Workout and Recovery Review

I feel it is important to review my workouts and rest days to better understand the impact on my performance.

Saturday (13/5/23)

• B2B Spin classes – technically should have gone easy on this day since my race was the next day but I figured it would be a much milder version of what it will feel like to race two days in a row like I would have to do in October.

Sunday

• 2023 MWM Race felt harder than it should have been because I worked out quite intensely the day before. I usually take a rest day before a race so this was not unexpected.

Monday

• Rest day. I was on my feet the whole morning helping out with FMR’s Grandmother’s Memorial. Can this be called active recovery? I didn’t work out but I wasn’t reverse planking either.

Tuesday

• Tribe Boxing class. I gotta say that this felt harder than I thought it would. Could it be that my rest has not been sufficient to recover from the last weekend’s workouts?

Wednesday

• Spartan Baseline Test – could I have done better if I was sufficiently rested? I found the last test a real struggle even though it shouldn’t have been particularly difficult.

Thursday

• Tribe Boxing class. In my mind, it shouldn’t have been difficult but I was struggling. There was no finesse in my punches and my arms felt really tired. This was probably the first sign that I might need to rest – declining performance.

Friday

• Spartan Bucket Ladder – I didn’t complete this exactly as it should have been done and a Garmin “strained” warning appeared. Perhaps this week felt harder than it should have because I am not used to the intensity yet.

Saturday

Allowing your body time to rest is a necessary part of an effective training routine. These days give you time to heal from the stress you’ve placed on your joints and muscles, prevent fatigue and burnout, and can even help you break through the difficult plateaus you may be facing.

Stephanie Mansour, Personal Trainer

I really struggle with slotting in rest days. Of course, I know they’re necessary and just as important as exercising. It doesn’t stop me from feeling guilty when I take them, though. It’s like I’m slacking off when I should be training for my next race.

Rest days are an important part of exercise for all levels of fitness. A person should take a rest day every 7–10 days or as needed to help the body and mind recover. A rest day can be an active day that incorporates gentle exercises such as walking or yoga. Alternatively, a person may opt for a full day of relaxation.

Medical News Today

I would have plowed on with a workout but my HRV Status has been unbalanced since Friday. That means I’m not recovering sufficiently and it could affect my training performance. I’ve also had an elevated resting heart rate and a persistent cough that hasn’t gone away since I got it two weekends ago. As reluctant as I am to rest, I shouldn’t ignore the signs.

The general rule for working out when under the weather is that if the symptoms are above the neck, it is okay to work out. I’ve been working out almost everyday since I went down with a scratchy throat with no other symptoms. The scratchy throat developed into a productive cough with no other symptoms so I continue my workouts. It’s now two weeks since and the cough remains, albeit there is no more phlegm. It isn’t unusual for coughs to last two weeks but I can’t help wondering if it would have resolved more quickly if I rested more instead of plowing on with my workouts. It’s just food for thought since there is no way to know now.

Sunday

• Period Day 1 – might explain why I’ve been feeling so fatigued.
• HRV is still unbalanced – most likely because sleep was poor last night. Probably should have been another rest day but I got on the bike and Zwifted for a bit in New York.
  • Grand central circuit
  • Park park perimeter loop
  • Astoria Line 8
• I didn’t ride hard but a Garmin warning came up – high level of activity has delayed recovery. And here I thought I took it easy, too. Oops.