Closing in on my threshold of work/running/sleep/nutrition capacity this week. It’s as if a soccer ball were balanced on a table and the above 4 are the legs of the table. In order for the ball to stay balanced, the 4 legs must remain the same length.

Stress is like a big, soft, furry puppy running around the room — ready to bump the table at any moment (just play along dear reader)… More work + more running and I need good nutrition and lots of sleep in order to flush the system clean.

The easiest to manage is actually sleep… without it the ball tumbles… and I get sick. I’m trying to bump my running mileage this week as I’m racing in 4 weeks. The plan is to periodize high, and then taper down to a low mileage week before the race. This week is crucial.

Exercise has amazing stress relieving benefits … up to a certain point. Beyond that point, the recovery from the exercise smashes into the stress and the benefits plummet. This is bad.

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And they sat in the car with the ignition off and both doors open on that warm June night as the sun faded and the insect crescendo of the meadow slowly rose. Exhausted after a day of climbing in the Valley they turned up the volume on the stereo, reclined their seats and closed their eyes. The music started and it was beautiful.

Ahhh… to be immortalized on the internets.