Breath

I rode to and from work today and ran at lunch. This is always a tough workout, but I also rode to and from work yesterday. They closed the pool today for superclorination due to some parasite that is going around - sounds nasty.

I'm starting to realize that I've gotten into a bad habit of not breathing deeply when exercising... this carried over into my last race. It really is something I need to focus on because I perform much better when I take long deep breaths.

Breathing deeply also helps me relax - I was feeling very tense riding home today - ran into a traffic jam, then a car crash, and I was pretty tired from the afternoon run. I could feel my neck and shoulders tightening up... may have something do do with the 15 pound pack that I ride with!

So, as I'm panting up a hill, straining at the neck and shoulders, not really thinking, and the Pink Floyd song "Breath" pops into my head and I instantly start taking deep breaths and relaxing. So I'll try to remember that before I get into the red zone when training and racing.

Overall, a pretty good song to have in your head, except the last lyric "Race toward an early grave" - not an aspiration of mine!