When I first started doing triathlons, I figured the only thing I'd do that was worse than than running would be running uphill. Training in the heat, sweating, pain the undercarriage from long hours on the bike; none of these compare to the hardest part of triathlon; the dreaded taper.
It's now been 5 days since I had a substantial workout, and it's driving me a bit crazy. I never taper more than a day or two for shorter races, so this definitely feels weird. My little aches and pains are being alternately helped and hurt by my sitting around; my knee and ankle feel better while my hip feels worse. None of them will keep me from racing or hinder my performance (I hope!).
Even worse than the aches and pains is the fact that my body is used to expending ridiculous amounts of energy. Instead of ripping through calories being tired and getting some extra sleep, I sit around on my butt and stay up late because I have too much energy. I've been up til 2 AM three nights this week, and that's not the goal of taper week AT ALL.
So, what exactly have I been doing with all the extra time not spent working out? Here's a glimpse into my week as a man of leisure:
- Going further into the rabbit hole of doping in the professional cycling ranks. Some day I'll post about it
- Watching the start of summer TV season:White Collar, In Plain Sight, Covert Affairs, et al.
- The NHL playoffs ended tonight and the Bruins won the Stanley Cup. Playoff hockey is amazing, and I'll miss it every day until next season starts. If you don't hear from me tomorrow, send the Marines.
- Tune up the bikes a little with new tubes and tires and a lot of longing looks
Oh, and one other thing; eating. The workouts aren't happening, but my body seems to think they are. Thankfully, I've done pretty well with my food choices and portion control, other than insane cravings for cheese.
Thursday morning Rach and I will break the taper a bit with a final 1.2 mile swim in the lake and a short bike in the afternoon. I can't wait to shake the rust off.
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