After my brick session last night it occurred to me: I refuse to slow down.
I worked hard to get where I was before my crash, and I don’t want to lose my conditioning because of one mistake.
I had set a goal at the beginning of the year to exercise at least one hour a day. Despite holiday delays and one two-week Dr. ordered rest period, I was beating my goal handily before my crash. In fact, I had not done less than one hour a day since the middle of February when I was cleared to resume training, banking a nice buffer of time in the process. I think I may have set my goal too low.
Nevertheless, I jumped back on the elliptical after taking a two day break following my crash, where I broke my clavicle, scapula and two ribs. I also mowed the lawn one handed a few times that week, taking only five days off in the two weeks following the crash. I even managed a 45min elliptical session, plus mowed and trimmed the lawn the day before my clavicle repair surgery. Pretty sure I was just in denial at that point. Maybe I still am.
Since the surgery, I took a few more days off. But I’m back at it, doing a :30-:30, elliptical-trainer brick every day. I plan on keeping at this strategy until I can up my intensity and get back outside with my training. While it is definitely no fun training indoors right now, even boring elliptical and trainer sessions beat the alternative of doing nothing.
I simply refuse to slow down. I will not let this injury win. I will be an Ironman this season.