“You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”
- Walt Disney

Photo: Me and my German hosts - Annika and Annette - in Roth, Germany

After three weeks of feeling sorry for myself and high anxiety, I am now in a different place. I have have transformed my HATE relationship with overtraining into a LOVE / HATE relationship. I still HATE overtraining because of the uncertainty it has created for my future as an athlete. On the other hand I LOVE the fact that I became overtrained, because I now am being forced to rest.

The past few weeks have been a challenge for me. Suddenly, I’ve gone from “Sub Nine Hour Ironman Guy” to “Slow Man in My Swim Lane Guy.“ Talk about a blow to the ego. Ouch!

Adversity has introduced me to myself. Maybe I’m not such a bad guy after all even if I don’t race triathlons fast.

Because of my somewhat voluntary, somewhat forced “chill period,” I am beginning to feel energized and motivated to train and race, which are things that haven’t felt for quite a long time. Because I am feeling energized and motivated again, I also now realize that I spent the better part of this past winter and spring “slogging” through my training to do a [yawn....] marathon in February and [ho hum...] Ironman Arizona in April. I wasn’t excited. I was going through the motions during my workouts. Not being excited and only going through the motions will never get me to my sub 8:30 Ironman goal at the Quelle Challenge in Roth.

The “chill period” also gives me the opportunity to “fix” all the nagging aches in pains in my body that never seemed to go away.

So, yes, there is a silver lining in this overtraining cloud.

Train hard and rest even harder!

David

–
David B. Glover
Professional Triathlete, Coach and Race Director
Author of Full Time and Sub-Nine
Personal Web: www.davidglover.net
Business Web: www.enduranceworks.net

© 2008 David B. Glover