Multisport Mutation

Triathletes and other multisport or endurance athletes tend to be - on the whole - a fairly hardy bunch. Training needs to get done whatever the weather and it's often more a case of how to fit life in around the training regime rather than the more common problem of "how to fit exercise into the daily routine". The training schedule becomes the daily routine and it's only when you finally take a rest day that you realise you have all this extra time to do the normal things people do such as sit down and eat lunch, or watch a couple of hours of TV in the evening.


In the last couple of months my training levels have dropped so considerably that I become quite used to doing all those regular daily tasks and it wasn't really until last week - when I picked up the exercise again - that I noticed just how dramatically I had transformed from hardcore, gnarly and energetic duracell-bunny-esque being into a lethargic, blobby, lazy mortal.


Much to my utter dismay, I have discovered that this transformation occurs far more quickly and easily in one direction than the other; to change back to what you were before is a long and painful process. I can suddenly sympathise with werewolves as I think this is almost an identical feeling that they must have every time they mutate into manic, hairy beasts. All the groaning, roaring and convulsions they have to suffer to become bigger, stronger and faster is probably very similar to all the sweating, grunting and aching that we must endure to become fit. Notice that the metamorphosis is far less electrifying when the creature of the night quickly changes back to the weakling human.


Whilst it does hurt and I do feel horribly unfit, there is a sort of masochistic satisfaction about getting back into it all. I smiled smugly to myself after a good gym session as my muscles trembled and I saw the callouses re-emerging on my hands. I also felt strangely content with my sore legs as the toll of a couple of days cycling to and from work kicked in. To top it all off my heart did a mini leap of joy after jogging all the way to the top of a huge flight of stairs with the running group; it might have been palpitations but I'm pretty sure it was a leap of joy.


It's going to be an arduous autumn, but hoping I'll be howling at the moon by winter!