As usual for me during taper, I have come down with a raging cold. I felt it starting to come on Thursday, and by Friday night and Saturday, I felt like I had been hit by a Mack truck. Headache, congestion, and dizziness were the perpetrators. None condusive for my last "long" bike ride of the season. But I had to try out my new tires....
I would definitely say its not a smart idea to go out and ride 40 miles when you can't breathe and have some vertigo going on, but I did it anyway. Just an easy 40 miles locally on some hills and rougher roads to get a feel for the new tires and make sure my bike was working properly after it was in for its tune up last week. Mission accomplished. Although I felt like crap, all of the non-living equipment worked perfectly, and eased some of my anxieties heading into the race.
One thing is for sure though. I DEFINITELY would not have been able to complete the distance of an Ironman on saturday of this past weekend (and possibly even Sunday). I was musing to myself while riding that I absolutely was not performing up to my visible potential - i.e. I was completely dogging it with my new leaner physique from training and relatively higher-end set of equipment. I got to thinking how the body is such an interesting thing - often you hear of world champion caliber athletes not starting or dropping out of races due to illness earlier than in the week of the race. Even their YEARS of meticulous training and nutrition can not overcome common viruses. How weird to face the reality that one has built a "machine" ready to perform at a moments notice, but something as minor as a head cold can have you curled up in the fetal position hoping that the next time you open your eyes the world stops spinning!
Thankfully, I feel much better now - and am happy that I will have gotten yet another "unknown" out of the way - how bad it would have been if this had struck Tuesday or Wednesday before the race! Hopefully I will be fully recovered by next Sunday and ready to race at 100%.
I would definitely say its not a smart idea to go out and ride 40 miles when you can't breathe and have some vertigo going on, but I did it anyway. Just an easy 40 miles locally on some hills and rougher roads to get a feel for the new tires and make sure my bike was working properly after it was in for its tune up last week. Mission accomplished. Although I felt like crap, all of the non-living equipment worked perfectly, and eased some of my anxieties heading into the race.
One thing is for sure though. I DEFINITELY would not have been able to complete the distance of an Ironman on saturday of this past weekend (and possibly even Sunday). I was musing to myself while riding that I absolutely was not performing up to my visible potential - i.e. I was completely dogging it with my new leaner physique from training and relatively higher-end set of equipment. I got to thinking how the body is such an interesting thing - often you hear of world champion caliber athletes not starting or dropping out of races due to illness earlier than in the week of the race. Even their YEARS of meticulous training and nutrition can not overcome common viruses. How weird to face the reality that one has built a "machine" ready to perform at a moments notice, but something as minor as a head cold can have you curled up in the fetal position hoping that the next time you open your eyes the world stops spinning!
Thankfully, I feel much better now - and am happy that I will have gotten yet another "unknown" out of the way - how bad it would have been if this had struck Tuesday or Wednesday before the race! Hopefully I will be fully recovered by next Sunday and ready to race at 100%.
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