Ready... BREAK!!!
I was on a long string of uninterrupted training days. Nearly three weeks of at least an hour a day on the trainer. A lot of intervals and higher-intensity work in compacted periods of time to transition from the steady diet of long, slow distance I did in the Lower 48.
I was watching my Training Status Balance (TSB) to ensure I didn't suddenly cook myself during this changeover. After an initial dramatic climb, it leveled out, mirroring the abrupt plummet and eventual stabilization of my Acute Training Load (ATL). The Chronic Training Load (CTL) continues its gradual decline to something approaching normal for the trainer season. All of that is better explained here. What it means to me is when this squiggly line does this or that squiggly line does that, I am reasonably sure things are (or aren't) going to go to plan.
Sounds reasonable enough, although I've found that Training Peaks doesn't always account for dramatic and quick changes to lifestyle or training methods, and it can be weeks before it catches up. In the meantime, you have already finished digging a fitness grave and sculpting a very tasteful tombstone for it. Then you have to dig yourself out like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill: Vol 2, except you don't look as good when you reach the surface.
So, even though the squiggly lines looked all peachy and I was still putting out somewhat decent numbers on the trainer, I knew I should take a day off. The pattern of behavior was firmly ingrained, so I wasn't worried about falling off the wagon. I just needed a day to rebuild a little.
Every once in a while it's nice to be lazy. It makes you feel like you fit in with modern society, and gives you something else to chitchat about other than squiggly lines and how they fit into your annual fitness plan.
My rest days involve bad dietary choices and Netflix Gilmore Girls binge watching, just like my training days. However, there isn't the physical exertion to counteract all of the evil. I just embrace it and hate myself a little bit more. Self-loathing fuels my training activities.
This is why changing things up once in a while is a good thing.
I was watching my Training Status Balance (TSB) to ensure I didn't suddenly cook myself during this changeover. After an initial dramatic climb, it leveled out, mirroring the abrupt plummet and eventual stabilization of my Acute Training Load (ATL). The Chronic Training Load (CTL) continues its gradual decline to something approaching normal for the trainer season. All of that is better explained here. What it means to me is when this squiggly line does this or that squiggly line does that, I am reasonably sure things are (or aren't) going to go to plan.
Sounds reasonable enough, although I've found that Training Peaks doesn't always account for dramatic and quick changes to lifestyle or training methods, and it can be weeks before it catches up. In the meantime, you have already finished digging a fitness grave and sculpting a very tasteful tombstone for it. Then you have to dig yourself out like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill: Vol 2, except you don't look as good when you reach the surface.
So, even though the squiggly lines looked all peachy and I was still putting out somewhat decent numbers on the trainer, I knew I should take a day off. The pattern of behavior was firmly ingrained, so I wasn't worried about falling off the wagon. I just needed a day to rebuild a little.
Every once in a while it's nice to be lazy. It makes you feel like you fit in with modern society, and gives you something else to chitchat about other than squiggly lines and how they fit into your annual fitness plan.
Pro Tip: Nobody cares about your annual fitness plan.
My rest days involve bad dietary choices and Netflix Gilmore Girls binge watching, just like my training days. However, there isn't the physical exertion to counteract all of the evil. I just embrace it and hate myself a little bit more. Self-loathing fuels my training activities.
This is why changing things up once in a while is a good thing.
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