Drill sergeant or Zen master?
So at the beginning of last week (wk. 12 HIM plan) the coach P video basically says....hey in the OS it's OK to be the drill sergeant, but now, especially with the race date fast approaching, it's time to be a "zen master" and have your eye on the race with every wko.
Well, the long ride at the end of the week(Sat. for me) put me to the test. Just didn't feel right....couldn't hold TP intervals, cut short Z3 intervals, and eventually decided to end ride 50' early. Was DEAD the rest of the day. Sun. is always off for me, so I get a good swim in Mon. AM, and a not too bad TP run wko in the afternoon, but almost fall asleep driving home that night.....hmmmmm.
Then Tue. calls for some Vo2 intervals on the bike with a brick run (my schedule is tweaked from the plan), and my heart feels like it's going to jump out of my chest 30" into the first one. I manage 4 pathetic attempts before I decide to limp on home, struggling to hold .65 IF. Of course NO brick run, and now I KNOW something isn't right! Not cold or flu, but just feeling off in a major way.
Wed. is long run day, normally do it in AM, but decide to sleep in and give it a try in afternoon since cool temps predicted. Well, feeling sleepy all morning at work....this is ridiculous I'm thinking, but it is what it is. Take a nap during lunch, get about 9 solid hours sleep last night, and decide to "test the waters" with a ABP ride today, at whatever pace feels OK, and guess what.....knock out a 90' ride (cut it short just to be safe) at .83 IF, and felt great.....singing "back in the saddle again" this afternoon at work 
Moral of the story....now is the time to be a "zen master", not a drill sergeant. I love this team!!
Comments
The higher the cumulative load of the training week (frequency + volume + intensity) the more you need to be on your self-monitoring game vs simply doing what the plan says to do. The plan becomes less of a plan and more of a guide / suggestion, in other words.