When Exhaustion Sets In

For the past few days I have been abnormally tired. I enjoy sleeping in but I have trained myself to  wake up early to get in workouts. I go to bed early and even take frequent naps if I am really tired. Lately though I am to the point where all I want to do is sleep. My body is fighting back.

Today was supposed to be my last hard workout before Sunday's triathlon. It was also supposed to be my last day before my rest week starts. I woke up this morning sore and even more tired than normal. Almost instantly I decided it was better to start my rest week one day early than dig myself into an even deeper hole.

I do think some of this is due to my lupus. Every once in awhile I get tired to the point where I just need to sleep pretty much all day long to catch up. But I regularly get between 8-9 hours of sleep a night so it's not like I am really sleep deprived.

Ever since my first triathlon in July I have really upped both the duration and intensity of my workouts. I started doing two-a-days at least three times a week, with normally at least two days on bricks or other forms of combined workouts. I started adding in weekly long runs and track workouts, and changed my bike focus from long and easy to short and intense.

It really comes as no surprise that I am so tired. My body has been working really hard and deserves some time off. But I don't want to completely stop training since I am running a marathon in 11 weeks. Instead of panicking that my training was going to be ruined I tried to make a rest/recovery plan to get be back to normal.

Extra rest day
My planned rest day was on Saturday but I am taking today off as well. I want to feel refreshed on Sunday and ready to race, not super tired and sluggish. I will be using my extra time to start packing for school and take care of some things that have been put on the back-burner lately.

Super easy workouts
I don't want to take the next few days completely off but I will be keeping my workouts as easy as possible. I want to keep my muscles loose and fresh and ready to race. Not is not the time to try to build fitness. All of the work is done.

Eating the right foods
I started taking a multivitamin back in May but that is not enough to give the body all the micronutrients that it needs. Being a vegetarian I do struggle to get enough protein so that is going to be a focus over these next few days. Primarily though I am going to cut out junk food and try to eat as naturally as possible. My body feels the best after eating natural, wholesome foods.

Stretch, foam roll, compress
Yesterday I got my first pair of compression socks in the mail that I have been living in since I got them. My lower legs feel so much better than normal after track workouts and I credit that to running in the socks. My legs in general are really tight and sore so stretching and foam rolling and becoming a part of my daily routine. I am going to be taking full advantage of tomorrow yoga class as well.

Anything I missed?