Wednesday, September 24, 2008

My Oscillating Life

I’m having a really rough day today and I felt that it was important to put these types of days out there just as much as I talk about all the things that we should do. I mean, most of us know what we should do most of the time. Its how to do it when you don’t want to that gets us.

I’m sure that all of this is stemming from my couple weeks of traveling, being out of my usual environment and although I did great during my travels it was mentally exhausting towards the end, physically too, in the sense that I had to exercise, eat and sleep in atypical surroundings.

So, here I am a few days after I’ve returned to my characteristic setting, healthy food stocked in the pantry and refrigerator, fresh pillow cases on my own bed and family around and yet I feel somewhat empty and out of sorts. I have a half marathon coming up on Saturday and I’m not even excited about it. I have to run 5-6 miles tonight and I’m doing everything possible to figure out a way NOT to put on those running shoes. Ever had these discussions with yourself?

Here is what I have decided to do.
  • Do what I know needs to be done. This is no time to be stopping the cart. I’ve got me a race to run and I’ve trained hard for 12 weeks to prepare my body, mind and spirit for this event. I can’t let a few days of feeling yucky ruin what I’ve worked hard for. I would feel worse if I did.
  • Start focusing on what I will do after my marathon. A lot of athletes have a let-down after an event. It’s like the high of all the work is let out like air in a balloon. I think I might be feeling this early.
  • Make sure that I have only good healthy choices in front of me. This isn’t the time to have a box of Pop Tarts in the house. I’ll tell you exactly where they would go. :)
  • Get to bed early over the next few days. I think I’m overly tired and being over tired leads us to make poor food choices and binge when we really don’t want to. I could use the extra sleep prior to my big day anyway.
  • Get my last run in tonight. It is part of my training schedule. I will be able to cross it off my schedule and know that I kept up my part of the schedule for 12 weeks, not missing one run, even during two weeks of being away from home.

Our lives are not always going to be a “bowl of cherries”. But with the right direction and not allowing ourselves to deviate from our intended goals we can move past the pits and enjoy the fruit.