Oct. 24, 2010
Training: OD classic roller-ski L1-L2. Total Time: 3hr
Free time is a rarity in my life it seems. The most relaxing part of my day is the thirty minutes in the morning as I enjoy my cup of coffee in the morning. I get up earlier just so I feel like I'm not rushed through my coffee drinking experience. As most people would agree, the morning coffee is like switching on the "on" buttons. Its important not to rush it otherwise you might feel as though some button was missed somewhere in the morning hoopla and you feel slightly off kilter for the rest of the day. With days that seemed packed to the gills with training and work thirty minutes almost never feels like enough time to collect your bearings. I always seem to have a hundred things running through my mind that i never really have time to sort out. Finances, training, work, fitness, relationship, they all go into the ongoing circus which is my head. I try to stay relaxed as much as possible , but as most people know, all the effort in the world sometimes cant counteract the stress buildup. Fortunately, for me I have one good workout a week that allows me time to sort through some issues. The OD or over-distance workout is one of the key workouts in almost every endurance sport athletes regime. Its a workout that is generally low intensity and allows the body to key into certain muscle groups to promote capillary growth in those areas, thereby allowing more blood to those muscles. With more blood comes more oxygen and nutrients, allowing those muscle groups to work longer and/or harder etc.. For me, its a time to ponder those things aching to be pondered. Most of my OD workouts are in the 3 hour range which provides plenty of time to sort through things. Ive been doing these workouts for a long time and tend not to focus on the movements as much as I used to. I have gotten pretty good at shutting my brain off and plugging out the hours. In cases such as today, I hardly even notice the time ticking away and before I know it I'm back at the car three hours later. These workouts are like black holes to me. I get lost in thought almost immediately and seem to come back to reality just before i reach the end of the workout to chick in with the body and see how things are holding up. Its like a three hour meditation for me. By the end of the week, I'm generally pretty worn and tired and have plenty of things going through my head plucking "stress strings". By the time i finish my OD, i always feel much calmer and lacking a better word...normal. I'm able to sort through just enough issues to make my ongoing stress level tolerable. I know they say that exercise relieves stress and whatnot, but I always seem to find a way to make exercising, training, or whatever you might call it be stressful. I think i just find some workouts as time away from the everyday life. It provides that extra "coffee time" that everyone needs one way or another to screw their heads on straight. Without the multitudes of hours training, they would probably put me in an institution. Another day done and another 3 hours in the bank. Nice.
Thought of the day: Its totally worth it to wake up 20 minutes earlier and have those few minutes to smell and enjoy the morning beverage of choice. It can dictate how your day goes from there.
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