Older and Wiser

So far my week looks like this:
Sunday: 6 mile run (crappy weather)
Monday: 11 mile run
Tuesday: 60 min bike, 6 mile run
Wednesday: 2000-3000m in the pool (later tonight, TBD)
Thursday: 7 mile trail run
Friday: rest (maybe 30 min easy spin after I tune up my bike)
Saturday: 20-25 mile trail run
Sunday: 90 min bike or swim (TBD)

Makes me tired just looking at it.

I had originally scheduled another 10+ mile run for yesterday to make up for the 20 miler I missed this weekend. My nagging knee pain had started to return on Monday (I blame the pavement). Training for my first 1/2 marathon, my right knee cap started to feel like it was caught on something, and didn't move in it's natural track. Overuse injury I decided, and all the more reason to keep up tri training. Except this winter I've piled on the miles and let my bike collect dust.

So last night, instead of 10 more miles of pounding, I spent an hour on the trainer and then did an easy 6 miles through the neighborhood. That may not sound like taking it easy, but trust me, replacing 4 mile with 60 minutes of riding did me a world of good. At home, I stretched a little, rolled my legs and back on the foam roller, and iced my knees. No knee pain during the run. Bowl of ice cream with fresh strawberries as my reward. :)

I'm a little short on miles, but I think the bigger victory was listening to my body for a change instead of just grinding through another workout. I'm trying to be better at this, especially since I'm a "little" under-trained for the 40 mile race in 2 weeks. I'm trying to add miles and cardio, but I can't afford a complete breakdown. It's an interesting balance.

On a different note, I'm hungry all the time. One of the many joys of training. It's a good thing we're stocked up on apples, grapes, strawberries, carrots, peppers, and tomatoes. If it's raw and was growing out of the ground, I don't have to worry about how much I eat. Getting enough protein is a different story.