I just finished my Zone 2 bike workout.  The workout consisted of an hour of Zone 2 work.  It was set up as three, 20 minute intervals, within an overall 90 minute ride.  It should have been a relatively ‘easy’ ride, but today I struggled.

My motivation to ride was low this evening, and even physically, I found it tougher than it should have been.  I felt fatigued. I was fatigued, but that fatigue didn’t come from working out, it came from ‘life stress’.

What do I mean by ‘life stress’?  It is literally stress, caused by things going on in my life.  Stress is very tiring on the body, even if it doesn’t feel like it is impacting your body at the time.  If you want a good example of ‘life stress’, check out my day below.

Today was the second anniversary of my father passing away.  That is him in the photo.  He was a huge inspiration for me.  He taught me values, that have made my life what it is today.  I miss him dearly and I spent all day, reflecting on our time together.

At work, I am currently part of a project, that involves a lot of cooperation with a team in Europe.  Time zone differences meant that this morning, I had to get up very early. I needed to participate in three consecutive, virtual meetings, that lasted a total of five hours.  Not the greatest way to start any work day.

Stress can come from all kinds of emotions.  Our family also had great news today.  Our son was accepted into Pharmacy School at Duquesne University.  He has worked so hard to get into this PharmD program. We are so happy for him.

So there you have it.  A real rollercoaster of a day, full of ‘life stress’.  Did it impact the quality of my workout?  You bet it did !