No More Bike Commuting

So after IMLP, I took a whole week off from working out (and ate lots of chocolate instead). The next week I started bike commuting again and did very little additional exercise. However, bike commuting 18 miles a day did add up - 90 miles that week. The next week, I got back on a regular workout schedule with two-a-days. I bike commuted Monday and Tuesday and by Tuesday evening felt awful. I was tired, I was cranky, I was hungry, and I was sore. In short - bike commuting in no way was helping my recovery from Ironman. Add to that the fact that I (sortofstupidly) signed up to do Timberman (a 70.3 in lovely NH) exactly 4 weeks out from IMLP - proper recovery suddenly became extremely important. Drastic times call for drastic measures - I'm sucking it up and taking the bus/metro as much as it pains me. At least until after 70.3 Galway. Before working with Jen, I didn't fully understand the importance of proper recovery between races and between workout sessions. I'm still learning, yes, and I'm still making dumb decisions here and there (140.6 + 70.3 + 70.3 in 6 weeks) (but hey, it's better than 3 half ironmans in 4 weeks, right?). Racing right, setting myself up for a PR, that's how I need to race from now on. No more "racing for fun" or signing up for an extra race just because my friends are doing it. If I'm investing this much time and energy and money into the sport, then I need to make sure I'm doing everything else right to succeed (i.e. RECOVER). So, next year I will be planning out my season a little more carefully post-IMLP.

However - good news. Within days of giving up the bike commute, I felt much more refreshed, rested, and... recovered. I think we're good to go for this weekend. Cheers to a weekend with great friends, an awesome race, and hopefully a run-in with Chrissie Wellington.