As a coach I am often telling athletes to take the time to rest and let injuries heal before getting back into training. It is easy advice to give. This latest bout of knee trouble has reminded me of how hard it is to take the advice. My left knee has been a bother for over a month now. I remember the exact moment when it happened and since that time I have been getting it worked on and doing all of the things that have brought it back to 100% in the past, everything except taking some complete time off. Well, I have hit that point. I am taking my own advice and giving the knee a couple full days of rest. One of the things that allowed me to have a good year in 07 was the ability to go injury free for a long period of time. I was able to back up training block after training block. This is the key to training and improved performance. However, when you do come up against health hurdles it is imperative to take whatever measures are needed to get yourself back to the point where you can start putting those solid weeks of training together again. Going at things when you are at 70% is not the recipe for success.
Anyhow, it seems my training this year has consisted of a number of stutter starts . I am still fairly fit, but fitness without health is not extremely useful. I am off to Kona next week for a training camp with HPR and I am hoping that I am at a point where I am officially kicking off the start of my focussed training season. In the end, I think this may all be a good thing. It has reminded me that I am not bulletproof when it comes to injuries and with the big race of the season still 9 months away I will be ready when it counts.
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