the OS factor

t-minus < one month.

i remember during football season, coach steve was telling one of his many stories, and he mentioned the "OS factor". and i asked him "what does OS stand for?" to which he replied "the 'oh sh*t factor".

ah yes - the moment we all know where the fire gets lit under your butt and you have a sudden burst of motivation whence all fatigue, laziness, pain, or whatever else is suddenly replaced by panic and "GO GO GO!"

i've been trying to be good about this team trials. i started making a training plan at 12 weeks out, including rampups, tapers, cardio, strength, analysis, and the like.

and then i promptly got sick.

deathly.

twice.

at 8 weeks out, i was healthy enough to train again, so i started anew. and then my achilles flared up and brought a whole host of other issues. laura made me this swim/cardio workouts which started with 900 yards and made me so tired that i'd be dogging it in practice if i swam at lunch. there were times i opted to just teach class instead of working out with my class, and would breathe a sigh of relief when sabs would decide to do forms at bb class. i had trouble sticking to my 11.15pm bedtime, and willingly went nights with 5-6 hours of sleep, knowing that i'd be dying the next day.

and then the 4 week mark hit. registration came and went. new divisions were set (rawr).

and somehow...the OS factor just...kicked in. or rather, kicked me in the pants and got me moving.

for as much as i like to plan...i realized...staying intense over the long haul is virtually impossible. much like my cardio and training plan that i had scientifically planned out - you need to allow for rest, for psychological downtime, for a steady ramp up, a climax, and a taper - in order to peak at the right time.

OS. what would i do without it?