Friday Follies ~~ The Ouch Week

More often than not, I use this day to post some reminiscence, or some story, in an attempt to entertain.  There is usually something in these stories that justifies the “Follies” in the title of these posts.  Most of them are from the past.  Today’s post is from the now.

I often speak and write of the folks who “fall off the wagon” in the Winter.  These are folks who allow themselves to decondition, and then pay a terrible price to recover some level of fitness.  I’m not speaking about that, but rather something close to it.

Long time readers will have seen me refer to “Principles Of Fitness.”  Two key principles are

• Fitness is not static, it is either increasing or decreasing.
• It is not possible to maintain peak fitness.

In short, a very active individual will not be able to sustain the loads that bring them to that glorious “peak.”  To attempt to do so is folly.  Can’t be done.  The wise athlete knows that there must be periods of decreased demand.  The body must rest and recover.  And so, some parts of the year involve a certain loss of fitness.  (This is not quite the same thing as letting oneself go.)

In my life there is an annual routine.  I do allow myself to “coast” a bit through the mid to lat Autumn, and to reduce activity through the early Winter.  That also means that I must re-enter a “training mode” each Winter.  Of course, I’ve been doing lighter “training” from the beginning of November, but after The Holidays, I get more serious.

At first the body is lazy.  Training loads are not especially difficult, but the body has an inertia of its own.  Then, as training activities increase, there is always the point where I think,  “Wow!  Am I ever out of shape!”  That’s my first signal.  Things are happening.  Dedication must be applied.

There comes that moment, the one when I can feel the beginning of the return of increased fitness.  I know then that I am starting to “come into form.”  It’s a good feeling.  Zest for training increases, and I have to watch myself carefully, or I will do too much.

And then, along about right now, there comes a week where I feel that I might, just might, have bitten off a little more than I can chew.

The combination of weight work, core work, increased training loads on the trainer, and added difficulty elements like the fixed gear rides, all these stack up.  Friends, brothers and sisters, this is that week.  I’m having a familiar feeling.  Am I doing too much?  I’m tired, and sore, and looking at the remainder of the week and starting to think it just might be a tad over the top.  It’s also about now that friends and family start to ask if maybe I should tone it down a bit.

It’s all to the good.  I will get through this high demand, high-load week, and next week is a reduced training stress time, a time to regroup and do some “active rest.”  I know what will come next.  There will be other “tough points” in the training arch, and I will get through them.  But this is the critical one.  The one that makes you wonder.  This is the “Ouch Week.”