Non-Absorption

So, I ended up taking the bike test that I had missed during our Turkey trip this past Wednesday. It did not go well. My heart rate shot up almost right away, I only "improved" by a few watts, and I felt like I was going to die pretty much the entire time (you're really only supposed to feel like you are going to die most of the time, not ALL of the time- the concept behind the bike test being to go as hard as you can go for twenty minutes without actually dying [I'm pretty sure that if you die at the end, your results are invalid- but it is triathlon, so who knows?]).
I e-mailed coach about the whole situation and told her that I was really frustrated with my results (and the way that my runs have been going lately too).  I'm just not seeing the improvement that I expected to make, and it's driving me crazy (on a side note, the whole thing reminds me of AP Chemistry in high school...I studied and studied and studied...and still got a C. In the same way that my brain appears to be Chemistry resistant, my body is being ironman resistant right now...I work out and work out and work out and still get a C [or a six watt difference, the computrainer version of a C-]). Coach wrote back and told me that my "body isn't absorbing the workouts" (!!!! that's the last thing I want to hear. Does that mean that I could have been sitting on my butt this whole time and be in the same place?). Apparently, I am too stressed out (no kidding), not getting enough sleep (obviously), and not eating enough (seriously? wow. I mean, wow) and am therefore not recovering enough to get stronger. Bummer.
So, I have to take it easy for a couple days, eat more, and try to get more rest. If only that formula had worked for AP Chem.