I'm Down

I'm down (I'm really down). I'm down (Down on the ground). I'm down (I'm really down). How can you laugh when you know I'm down? (How can you laugh) When you know I'm down? "I'm Down" - The Beatles

The 2 weeks following the Miami Half Marathon were weeks I scheduled for down time from training. I had too many major events over the last several months requiring constant training: the Berlin Marathon in September, the Miami Man Half Ironman in November, followed by the Vegas Marathon in December and the Disney Marathon in early January. As I stated in my last entry, I had no business running the half in Miami but had a commitment to pace another runner in. I felt like the old joke that goes "I just flew in from the West Coast and, boy, are my arms tired." There is a reason you are supposed to cycle down after major events. Too many events strung together and you end up tired and feeling over-trained. Thus, I planned for 2 weeks of rest and relaxation to recharge the batteries after Miami. Things never work out as planned.

My son John came home from a school trip to Washington, DC where he and his high school buddies do what high school kids do when they are on an away trip. They burn the candle at both ends and in the middle for good measure. They got up a 3 AM to go stand on the national mall at 5AM, so they could stand in freezing cold weather for 8 hours to watch the inauguration. Witnessing an historic event, but pushing the body's resistance to the limit. On the plane ride home that Friday, he comes down with a cold that he graciously passes along to everyone in the family. Fortunately for me, I manage to not pick up the cold until the Wednesday after Miami.

Thus, instead of a restful and relaxing downtime in the training cycle, I'm down. I'm really down...with this cold. The last 4 days, I've felt like a slug. I guess I'm getting the recovery time I need, but I feel a jipped. I was looking forward to a vacation like rest.

Training buddy John is no better off having scheduled an actual vacation. Off to Winter Park, Colorado to give snowboarding a try, he's down. No, I mean, he's down (he's really down). He's down (down on the ground). How can you laugh, when you know he's down? OK, you can laugh a little, but not too much. Apparently, being a really good skier does not translate automatically to being a really good snowboarder. Or maybe it does, but John needs to work on his tumbling skills. John is fine, but it sounds like he may need a little down time to heal bruised muscles...and ego. Looking on the bright side: our training cycles are in sync.