What Two Days of Rest Can Do

There's a saying in the triathlon club, a sort of inside joke, that is called out by individuals who are feeling particularly sprightly at the start of a long group ride:

'J'ai le feu dans les jambes aujourd'hui!' ('I have fire in my legs today!').

It took me a while to work out the context, and now I understand that it essentially means that one is feeling good today and the rest of the group better watch out. A contrary joke has evolved in accordance with the fact that there are three doctors in the club: this one is often called out in the back half of a long ride when one is not feeling so good:

'Est-ce qu'il y a un medicin dans le peloton?' ('Do we have a doctor in the peloton?)'

Needless to say, the latter was becoming a favourite of mine - until today. After collecting my bike from the repair shop this morning, where it had spent two days getting the handlebars straightened out after Tuesday's crash while I spent two days icing my hip and picking gravel out of my skin, I headed out for a hill training session to see how things were functioning. I was pleased to see that my bike now rolled in a straight line, and even more pleased to feel that the two days of complete rest did wonders for my fitness. I truly had fire in my legs; although out at my lonely hill training spot in the heart of the vineyards, I had no one to tell it to. I banged out five-by-five hard gear repeats into a noteworthy headwind, before making my way over to the pool where I found that my shoulder is still a little lacking in mobility and swimming in a straight line proved to be a bit of a challenge, but I was otherwise the fastest fish in the water.

I think I might incorporate some forced rest into my training cycle more often, only without the high speed body-slam on a wet road.