Training SUCKED today.
My swim was horrendous. There is no other word for it. My stroke was all over the place, my pace off with more seconds than I want to admit. What the HELL is going on? Nutrition is as it always is, so there is energy in the tank.
I felt out of place in the water and because it is one of the disciplines I love it was, to say the least…CRAP. Struggled through the set anyway. I am here now, I can just as well continue splashing like a whale (one that obviously cannot swim).
Out of the pool, drive home and shovel lunch  (liquid I might add) down my throat. Time for my run.
Locking my howling dogs in the house, I set off, feeling like a very bad mom for leaving them behind.
2 Min warm up walk and then off we go. There is the beginning of a sandstorm outside. How the HELL did I miss this? Dust in my eyes, between my teeth and definitely in my ears.
15 Min in to this torture session my right foot starts cramping because the brace is too tight. Or at least I think so. Stop to loosen it. Start again and the cramping continues….best to ignore and shuffle on. Finally reached my turn around point. Yay??
No. My pants are chaffing me in a place that I cannot mention. Really? Now I am slowing the pace and focussing on my form (like a good athlete #takenote) while swearing to throw away my pants and HR strap (also chaffing BTW).
Last 1km to go and I am forced to walk again…SLOWLY….
2 Bull Mastiff’s are looking at me like I might be their mid-afternoon snack, latest kill or new chew toy. Now I am swearing at my pants and HR monitor, my foot is cramping from who knows what and I am frantically scanning the street for something to climb on in case the dogs start chasing me. Luckily, the owner pulls out of the drive and the gate closes without incident.
My training really sucked today, but I stuck it out and completed at least 80% of what I set out to do.
Not everyday is going to be smooth sailing when we train. 70% of the time, sessions bend us (not break) and push us to the limits. And of that 70% at least a quarter of those will have something in them like chaffing pants, dogs or sandstorms.  But those perfect training sessions are out there, waiting for you to reach a new threshold, to fly on the bike and to make your run seem effortless!
The sometimes crappy sessions are the ones where we learn about grit, perseverance. It’s those sessions that enable you to dig deep when you need to. So when the going gets tough, remember you are tougher!