rough week so far

Sunday I took a rest day. My legs were very tired from just the 12K on Saturday. I was pretty busy with family stuff on Sunday, and didn't get much physical rest. I'm sure that contributed to what was to come.

Monday I was exhausted when I woke up. I decided I'd ride my bike to work and skip racewalking, since I felt so lousy. I figured I could get a bit of extra cross-training in later. I worked, herded the kids home from school, and prepared dinner and set it to warm in the oven while attending Calvin's soccer game from 6-7 pm. After we ate dinner, Calvin begged me to go play soccer with him for half an hour before he had to go to bed. I didn't think twice about it, because it sounded fun. And it was! However, the consequence of doing an unfamiliar sport aggressively for 30 min were pretty severe.

Tuesday morning my legs were completely trashed. I intended to do a 3K fartlek, and knew it would be tough, but went to the track anyway. I tried to warm up, but my legs wouldn't respond. I did one lap in just under 3 min (normally this is 2:30 for warm-up!) and knew I couldn't racewalk. So I drove to the gym and rode the stationary bike for 20 min and did the elliptical for 20 min. Somehow I still found it in my legs to ride my bike to work. But again, I paid for all that activity. After work I was terribly exhausted, and went to bed at 9 pm.

I thought maybe after 9 1/2 hours of sleep last night that I'd be better today, and I am somewhat better. I went for a walk, planning 5 or 6km. After 1km I knew it would be just 5km today. I really didn't feel good. I still managed to do the 5km in 31:11 for 6:14/km with ave HR 140. My legs were very tired when I finished, but after a bit of rest I managed to bike to work.

Garmin data here.

I'm feeling OK now. Definitely not as exhausted as yesterday. I wonder if I'll feel better yet tomorrow if I get a lot of sleep again tonight? This ailment has to be one of the most frustrating I've dealt with yet. It's lasted a long time and impacts every area of my life - home (tired, hard to keep house clean, keep up w/kids, prepare good meals, etc.), work (forgotten items, lack of energy), racewalking (for obvious reasons), weight maintenance (tired all the time - leads to lowered willpower and increased eating, in addition to less ability to exercise). But at this time, I have two choices. I can whine and feel sorry for myself and give up, or I can persevere and be patient. Each day I must choose the latter; and yes, it's a first world problem, but difficult nonetheless.