Day 79 (taper day 3, 23/3/22)

Tapers are weird.

I think acknowledging that, and understanding that not every day is going to feel good, and some days you could feel the worst you may feel all season is a good start, and helps going through the process.

I didn’t have the ‘worst’ day ever today, just felt abit zapped, like every step to the pool my energy was fleeting away. I got to the pool and was having a rubbish warm up and instead of living in the moment of feeling that way, I managed to acknowledge it and start to turn it around.

I actually felt pretty good after that, like a kind of proud feeling. At the end of the day, for me, it comes down to asking myself 3 questions

Am I proud of the work I’ve put in to get here? ✅

Are my thoughts on a bad day true? ❌

Have I lost my ability all of a sudden because I don’t feel great? ❌

The thing with tapers is they come with a great deal of ‘trust’. That can be particularly scary for an individual who’s never been through them before, or even a seasoned veteran who experiences something different (a new low, a different feeling of fatigue).

It’s important to be able to take those days in stride, as how you’re feeling that day, will probably be completely different in a day, a week or when it comes to race day.

Trusting the process; trusting the training, and most importantly; trusting yourself can help you get through these times. Problems always seem smaller after vocalising them, writing them down or sleeping on them.

So yeah, not the best day, but I’m choosing to trust everything that has got me to this point, whatever that may be. (Ask me again tomorrow, my mind may flip flop 😂)

Outside of swimming it's been a productive day, had a very good session this evening, and I'm really excited for their competitions moving forward.

Onto the next day!