I was feeling a lot of pressure today to get my workout in. I didn't do any training the past 2 days and I felt extremely guilty about it. I'm learning that I have a lot of guilt around working out (or not working out). I was planning to train on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, I had a great workout. I did a brick workout where I ran, then biked, then ran again. I felt REALLY good about the workout. So much so, that I started thinking "Hey, this endurance stuff is definitely my forte. I feel like I get stronger the longer I'm training/the further I go." Then, Sunday came. I completely avoided my workout. Maybe I was too tired from Saturday's workout, but I didn't feel too tired to work out. In fact, I had energy to do other things. I just didn't want to do it. So I didn't, and I felt SO guilty all day. But I told myself, "well, you'll just do a quick workout tomorrow after work to make up for it." I didn't do that either. Sometimes, I'm just not very motivated. I can talk myself out a training session a little too easily.
I'm learning (slowly) that it's okay to miss training sessions, it's okay to choose sleep, friends, family over a training session now and again. There's so much talk in the endurance sports field about finding balance between training and the rest of life (work, family, etc) and I get it now. I feel pressure to be training, but I also feel pressure to be available to spend time with family and friends (this is completely internal pressure, my wife is extremely supportive of my training. Thankfully!)
I have a sign in my office (I'm a clinical social worker) that says "It is what it is." I love that sign. It's pretty much my motto. I can't be everywhere. I can't be everything to everyone. I can't think about myself solely. So, balance. I'll miss a few training sessions to spend time with my wife and friends. I'll leave early or arrive late to gatherings to get my training in. I'll keep working on the guilt part :-)
On a completely different note (sort of), I ran for 30 minutes today without a walk break!!! Woo Hoo! After all my guilt over not training the past 2 days, I went into my workout today unsure of how it would go. My plan was to swim and run, but I've missed several swim sessions lately and my motivation has been waning this week. I got in the pool and completed 800meters (1/2 mile). 100 meter warm up with the kick board, 600 meter free style stroke with minimal breaks (short 10-15 seconds between each 100 meters) and then 100 meters cool down with the breast stroke. That's the farthest I've swam in decades. I felt really good about it and it gave me a boost getting onto the treadmill to work on my running goal. My plan was 26 minutes of running, but I felt so good after the 20 minute mark, I decided to aim for 30 minutes and I made it! I even went a little farther after a 2 minute walk break and added a 10 minute interval run (increasing and decreasing speed) before my cool down!
I'm still running pretty slow, but I feel good about the endurance I'm gaining and I know speed will come with time and training.
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