Backing up

It's now four weeks after Ironman Melbourne and time to check in.

Actually, more than that, it's probably time for a reality check.

I'm trying to back up in time for Ironman Cairns but it hasn't all gone to plan.

Week One
The plan - do nothing
The actuality - one easy ride with a friend
How I felt - awesome
What I thought - "This is going to be easy."

Week Two
The plan - a few light rides, a swim. No running.
The actuality - a few light rides / WT sessions
How I felt - I needed a lot more sleep than I expected.
What I thought - "It's too soon."

Week Three
The plan - normal training, including a long double run and a long ride
The actuality - a swim, a short run at pace, a long double run, a short WT session, but no long ride.
How I felt - pretty good all round
What I thought - "I'm back."

Week Four
The plan - normal training, including a long double run and a long ride
The actuality - sick day on Tuesday, long run Friday morning, followed by a relapse of a shitty cold.
How I felt - Monday - scratchy, Tuesday - shit, Wednesday - OK, Thursday - mostly better, Friday - better again, but double shit after my run, Saturday - shit.
What I thought - "I'm an idiot."

When I decided to go through with these two races I knew I would be treading a fine line. Ironman takes a lot out of your body and let's be honest, my body is probably less robust than most.

I probably should have planned for a week of sickness somewhere along the line, but even so, I feel like I've managed my body poorly.

When I decided to back up, what I didn't want to do was go four weeks without training properly and here I am, four weeks in, and not training properly.

I'm not sure what happens now.

Backing up is hard.