T–248 WEEKS
T–248 WEEKS
Well, this is annoying.
A week ago I finished my first seven-week training block feeling really good about how things were going.
I’d trained consistently. I’d listened when my body wanted easier days. And then I surprised myself on test day with a much stronger hour on the rowing machine than I expected.
It felt like a really good start.
And then my back went.
There wasn’t some dramatic training accident. No giant lift. No moment where I immediately knew I’d hurt myself.
My back just became increasingly sore and tight until normal things like getting out of bed became difficult enough that I was using my arms to help myself up.
So instead of starting Block Two and continuing to build, I stopped.
For now, I’m walking.
That’s disappointing.
There’s a particular frustration in having something interrupt you just when you feel like you’re gaining momentum. Part of me wants to get back to where I was as quickly as possible.
But that would also seem to miss one of the lessons from Block One.
I wrote last week that training by feel isn’t always go easy and it isn’t always go hard. It’s paying enough attention to know which one today is asking for.
Well, apparently today is asking for very easy.
Maybe for a while.
And perhaps this setback is telling me something else too.
My aerobic fitness improved nicely during Block One. But if my back and knee are going to be the things that repeatedly interrupt training, then simply building more endurance isn’t necessarily what I need most right now.
So I’m thinking about changing Block Two.
Instead of another seven weeks primarily focused on increasing aerobic volume, I may spend it building the machinery that has to support all that future endurance: my back, core, hips and knees.
Keep a couple of aerobic sessions. Keep a longer hike when my body is ready for it.
But use much more of the block to get stronger.
That wasn’t the plan.
Which, increasingly, seems like part of the point of By Feel.
I’ve got years to build endurance. There is absolutely no prize for reaching a certain number of weekly training hours this fall.
The better outcome would be to arrive at next year—and eventually much longer training—with a body that’s better prepared to handle it.
So yes, this is a setback.
Particularly after such an encouraging first block.
But it’s also information.
And if I actually listen to that information and change what I do next, perhaps this setback will end up helping me more than another seven weeks of simply following the original plan would have.
For now, though, I’m walking.
Slowly.
Has an injury or setback ever caused you to change your approach in a way that ultimately made you better?
Feel good.