Sleep....or the lack thereof.

I have never been a bad sleeper. In my family, I am the only one who can fall asleep anywhere, anytime and in any position (sitting on a couch, on a plane, lying on the floor). I am also a good sleeper - although I sleep in a queen size bed, I have always just laid in one spot from the moment I fall asleep to the moment my alarm goes off.

Ever since my training load increased to a half ironman program, I have noticed that I am not getting enough sleep over the last 2 months or so. I have stopped consuming caffeine after 7pm (this includes gels) to ease my body into a good sleep but this hasn't helped. I try and get into bed by 10-10:30pm but as I return home from training on most nights by 9pm, it doesn't give me much time to unpack, eat, shower (or shower, eat), then pack bags (3-4 bags) and be prepared to sleep by 10pm without rushing like a mad woman.

To ease the rush, I have already started the habit of packing my work clothes for the next week into 5 individual bags, 3 seperate bags with one towel and one swimwear in each for my swim days and my windtrainer bag all during the weekend. Even with some pre-planning, I still feel like my life is still a never ending routine of unpacking and packing.

I know that eating dinner so late at night also doesn't help with sleep as the body is actively processing and metabolising the food I consume, so I have tried having a liquid meal after training as much as I can but there is only so much protein shakes one can tolerate per week.

Due to me morning training sessions, I set my alarm for 4:30am and 4:45am for Monday through to Thursday and 5:00 and 5:15am for a Friday. I have 2 alarms - the first one wakes me up from sleep, the second one tells me to get out of bed. Weekend alarms depend on where we are riding and running.

During the last few months, I have been waking up every 2 hours (or so) with a fright on most nights. My heart rate is so high that sometimes I feel like its going to beat out of my chest. I never remember what day it is so the first thing that I stress about when I wake (in a fright) is what training session I am late for, the next would be if I have packed all of my bags for it and the third is am I really late? The first thought actually scares me quite a bit and this is why I have bought a better clock which has the day on it so I know what day it is straight away. Secondly, I look at the clock and if it is not 4:30am or 5:00am, I go straight to sleep. This sleep fright also happens during my naps on weekends too which is a bit of a worry.  

Recently, I have noticed that the lack of good sleep is affecting my mood when I am awake - this could either be at work or during training. I feel that I lack the energy during work and I am easily agitated (when people ask stupid questions or people at work being immature).

I guess I know that my body (and mind) needs a rest from training. I will try to sleep as much as I can on weekends after long endurance sets. Being prepared over the weekend has helped and must refrain from worrying about training.  I have also started to take Swisse Sleep supplements (as advised by experts) to aid my sleep. Will see how it goes.  

The half marathon is in 32 days (received my bib on Monday), Noosa in 53 days, Shepparton in 67 days, Geelong in 151 and finally, the big one, Melbourne IM in 193 days.