So…some good friends of mine just built a new house that happens to be on the way home for me. It’s got a killer deck with a killer grill (that has its own beer cooler) and let’s just say it’s hard to drive past on a Friday afternoon. Not because I want to avoid training of course, but because the car just swerves over automatically - I have no control.
So…yesterday, I’m planning to meet a buddy for an easy ride and swim, but I’m running early (never happens), so what’s the harm in one beer? So…we have one beer, and another (I was really early), and then another buddy coincidentally runs by. He is also getting ready for IMCDA (his first IM), and is headed for a swim. I tell him, yes, I’m going to swim too, stop and have a beer.
Our third beer in, I call my buddy who is probably sitting at my house on his bike…but no, as luck would have it, he’s still on his way over, so we ask him to pick up more beer and come over. Four hours after “stopping for a minute” I have consumed way too much beer and way too much pizza (pizza followed naturally…), and deterred not one, but two friends from their training that night. Not to mention my own. (I had biked in the morning, so had some justification on missing the bike…but not the swim!)
Of course, I could also blame the homeowners for deterring all three of us, but they just get a kick out of it (he is “retired” from triathlon and just likes to mock me).
So…I got on my bike for my long ride this morning and felt like crap. Hadn’t had that much to drink in a while and although I didn’t really feel hungover, I sure as hell didn’t feel like climbing any hills. So I cut my ride short and decided to swap days and do a long run this afternoon when I’m feeling more recuperated and then hit the long ride tomorrow (thankfully I still have the whole weekend ahead). Then I read Tom’s post about just training through the crappy stuff and of course, I was a big wuss this morning.
Now: I’m thinking no more drinking until IMCDA. A beer at the finish will taste sooooo good (and will just put me right to sleep I’m sure…) and no more training sessions waylaid by “just this one beer.” What a moron. Me, that is.
