Seriously guys, this blog post is full of women-things. However, if you're curious or coach girls, or have a female athlete in your life you may want to read. But don't say I didn't warn you!!!
I told myself (and I think everyone) when I first started this blog that I would tell the good, the bad, and the ugly. I've read a lot of blogs where people only talk about the good things that happen; how good their workouts or races are. And when things go poorly they either gloss over it or just don't write for a while. I think there's a lot of things that aren't talked about that could and should be.
One thing is how a woman's cycle affects training/racing. It's honestly something I've thought very little about. Talking to Dave he's noticed trends, but I've really never thought about it. Today I was ready to do my speed session, a nice long and tough one. I got out there and was moving okay and then I wasn't. It was so frustrating. I was so frustrated! After last Sunday going poorly it just seemed so wrong to be having more bad days. I stopped after only 3K and walked home. I didn't even race walk home, I just walked. Got back, called Dave and again cried. I'd been doing everything I should be: stretching, sleeping, eating well, extra massage, cold baths. It makes sense my body may betray me when I'm not doing what I should, but it kills me when it betrays me when I'm doing all I should. I went home, got some snacks and a bunch of water and went for a long hike. It gave me a chance to clear my head, as well as go out and be physically active.
When things go wrong I like to try and figure out why. I figure there has to be a reason for things going wrong. I know sometimes they're under your control and sometimes they aren't, but I always want to know the why, that way if they can be fixed they can be worked on.
So I started thinking about why today went poorly. I've been getting good sleep so I wasn't really tired. I've been eating well, maybe even a little too much, so I wasn't low on carbs or anything. I'd gotten a massage and been stretching. I didn't start super early in the AM so I know my metabolism was working, and I had a nice breakfast.
The next thing I could think of was my cycle. It started the day before and was super heavy. I wasn't crampy, although I was a little bit the night before. But I could tell it was a different type of month than I might usually have. So I started thinking, could that be the cause of me just having zero get up and go. Once I got home I jumped on the internet and did a Google search: Does a woman's cycle affect exercise. Most of the answers I got back talked about the opposite: How exercise affects your cycle, but that's not what I wanted. I did finally find two different articles that I found very interesting. Here they are:
http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/2015/03/planning-your-exercise-around-your-menstruation-cycle/
and
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/advice/a36925/the-best-workout-to-do-when-you-have-your-period/
They are both interesting reads. Now obviously some of what they suggest isn't possible for athletes who are in full-time training. But it does make sense that there may be times where tweaks have to be made. If I read the article correctly then today was the worst possible day for me to try and do a hard speed session. So while I'm not going to just take it totally easy, it would've made a lot of sense to change my workouts around. I hate feeling like I'm making excuses when things don't go well, but I do realize that there's a difference between an excuse and a reason.
So now I'll be paying much more attention to my cycle and adjusting things when they need to be adjusted. Hopefully it won't happen often, but it's better to be prepared. And I think I will do more research on the subject.
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