Everybody is Human.
Being Human means we will fall short. At least I do. Often. I accept this and keep going with whatever challenge is in front of me. Does this mean I get disappointed? Yes. It is a built in mechanism meant to signal me to do something different.
Recently after tackling a 20 mile training run with my marathon group I got a little burned out. I was eating too much and had gained 8lbs. (Even as a professional trainer I fell into the trap that training for a marathon equals being able to eat anything....WRONG!!)
After weeks of running 20 to 30 miles, over Thanksgiving week I ran 1.5 miles. Then trying to get it back on that following Monday I ran little too hard and my back started hurting. Then the disappointment began to sink in. Borderline self pity.
My mind would say, "Maybe I don't want to run the Marathon anyway" or "Maybe I am just not built for this long distance stuff." I cruised by my run group a couple of times opting for the gym instead while my brain did its flip flops.
So after Thanksgiving I went on my Fitness Rehab Master List and lost the 8lbs in 10 days.
Then, a little more than a week ago, after a week of decent gym workouts I did a slow Saturday run of 10.5 miles. Everyone else did 16 miles but I checked my ego and just had fun with it.
THEN, on Sunday morning, as I spent some quiet time with coffee I thought about my difficulty with consistency. I remember a time a few years ago when I ran 3 miles a day for 100 days in a row and how it pulled me out to do AT LEAST something instead of nothing.
So being a little sore from the previous days run I set out to run or walk my 2nd consecutive day of at least 3 miles. It was wack. I was totally fatigued and walked more than half the way but I did it.
Then Monday was Day 3, then Day 4,......on Day 7, I walked most of the 3 miles for active rest, then on Day 8 I ran 22.5 miles around Austin with my group. And it was the total opposite of the grueling horror that had occurred with the 20 mile run 3 weeks earlier. I was back in the saddle!
At least until the next time but I know there are solutions.
Everybody is human. We just have to help each other face the Truth and get past the lows so we can experience the higher highs!!
David
