No rest for the Snotty....

Thursday morning I had an 'uh oh' moment as I lay curled up in bed slowly waking up to greet the day. Big Gazza is a kind of spring in to your day, wake up chatting and ready to play kind of guy. Where I am more your ease on in, kind of rub the eyes don't talk to me til I'm fully awake with a coffee in my hand kind of girl. Yep, we are a match made in heaven. So as he was chatting about the day and what I would like for dinner??? Hell Champ we haven't even made it to breakfast yet, but yeah turkey steaks sound fine grrrrrr. I was doing my best impersonation of a dead ant....with a sore throat. ohhhh nooooo swallow......yep still sore back there. Crap!

So, Thursday afternoon and we are standing in the water, wetties on and ready to hit out into huge surf (in the harbour) geeeez. Well, to coin one of the sayings from the Crew, Get your balls out! and that was what it was going to take to make it through this set today. Coach's orders, 4 times round the boats non stop. I figure that was maybe about 1500m. We had a solid hit out into waves and punched through peaks, taking air swings and then rolling down into troughs as we sighted for buoys and avoided swinging boats at anchor. We kept a watchful eye out for the surf boat crews who stay to our right, but you can never assume they can see you so always a good safety tip to know where they are. I worked hard through the 4 reps and came in with the rest of the Crew feeling like I had given it a good shot. Again the mind had floated off a bit. I need to work on not drifting off. Need to stay in the moment and keep the intensity on. I find I can slip into an easy rhythm that I can do all day but not good on race day. We finished the set with some shorter intense reps out and around a boat that was just off shore and then a couple of easy ones to finish and it was home time. I was shattered. I drove home barely able to keep my eyes open.



Wollongong Harbour on a calm sea


Friday morning was a groundhog moment. Yeah turkey steaks sound great and that sore throat is still there but now I have a sticky sweat happening and I have a massage booked for 7am. Bugger. I lay on the table with a tissue catching the run off. Gross but true. I got home, showered, popped more cold and flu drugs and went to work. A loooooong day! Got home and went to bed. Thankfully it was rest day.

So this morning, being Saturday, is long ride day. I woke up, no Big Gazza. He was in the gym with Roberto pounding out a 3 hr wind trainer set. The rain was pelting down and the wind was up. Too miserable for riding on the roads, so it was on. He had left me to sleep thinking I was too sick to train. I rubbed my eyes, swilled a coffee, pulled on the nix and pinned the hair in a messy ponytail, put my dressing gown back on and made my way out to my bike. The boys were surprised to see me and even more surprised as I climbed aboard the Little Cervelo, dressing gown still on and started peddling. I warmed up enough to lose the dressing gown and 3hrs of snotty, hot, sticky wind trainer and 91kms later and I was done.

I could not have bared the thought of seeing the boys do the session without me and the guilt of not having got it done, even though I was legitimately sick. I kept thinking of some advice I had heard...if you're sick above the neck train on. If you're sick below the neck, rest. So in the end it was done. And with the rain still pelting down I have no guilt about sitting on the lounge resting for the day. Get it done Sammi! Got it done Coach!