Just Fit Enough

I raced in a regatta yesterday.  I struggled in making the decision whether to race or not.  You see, I'm quite used to racing in peak condition.  And I'm not right now.  I haven't trained nearly enough to win a race.  But, in the end, I love racing so much that I decided I would.

And I'm glad I did.

It turns out that I'm "just fit enough".  Just fit enough for 4 minutes - give or take a few seconds - of gut wrenching, lung bursting, heart galloping exertion.  Just fit enough to maintain a decent stroke rate.  Just fit enough to even have a kick at the finish.  Just fit enough to help both boats to a third place finish.

Then I got home and Adam Kreek, 2008 Canadian Olympic gold medal rower, was on my Facebook feed.  Watch and enjoy.

And stay fit enough!

Life is NOT a Battle

People are taking up the fitness craze in droves.  But, as it turns out, the mentality of working out to exhaustion every day is super UNhealthy.  To live with the military attitude that life is a battle is not good for your body or your mental well being.  It's all about balance.

So next time you get off your chair, be kind to yourself.  A gentle walk will take you further into a healthy old age than an overkill workout will.

Read here about the militarization of exercise!  Yikes!!!  Bad trend, I say.

Back at Training Camp

Okay.  So I'm back at spring break training camp to train specifically for a race in early April.  I've rowed 3 times in the last two days, and I am fatigued!  So I went looking for information about fatigue and training and found this great info graphic about sleep.

Turns out that sleep is our best training tool!