Getting Back in the Game

Over the past two weeks I haven’t exercised very much – only twice.  Last week I decided to take an impromptu rest week.  I was starting to feel really tired and my legs seemed to be sore, so I thought a week off of all exercise sounded like a good idea.  I do it frequently actually because I like to take a complete break every now and then to feel refreshed.

The hard thing about taking a break is making sure I actually get back to exercising.  When I am in the habit of working out regularly, I find it easy to maintain a regular workout schedule.  However, if I take a break it seems all too easy to just carry on not doing anything and I become increasingly lazy.

Take this week for example.  At the start of the week I told myself that I would start running regularly again and wanted to do four workouts – three runs and a bike ride.  Needless to say this didn’t happen!  Instead I carried on being lazy and not doing very much.

I started off with good intentions and completed a run on Sunday afternoon.  It was only two miles but it was a run nonetheless

Mile 1: 9:33 min/mile

Mile 2: 8:47 min/mile

Unfortunately that’s pretty much where it ended.  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday came and went.  I did nothing.  No running, no cycling - no movement at all really.  I knew I liked running and I knew I wanted to exercise but I just couldn’t motivate myself to get out the door.  It’s true what they say – the first step [out the door] is the hardest.  I knew that if I could just get outside I would be fine, so I made a commitment that on Friday morning [today] I would go for a run no matter what.  No excuses.

On Thursday night, I put my Garmin on my bedside table so that it was the first thing I would see when I woke up and I hung my running stuff up at the foot of my bed.  There would be no hiding it if I decided not to go.

This morning I woke up and felt great.  I wanted to go running but at the same time I didn’t.  Lying in bed seemed so much easier but once I had got up and started to get ready I found myself getting excited about going out.

So I forced myself out the door and completed five miles in forty six minutes.  It was glorious.Mile 1: 9:24 min/mile

Mile 2: 9:12 min/mile

Mile 3: 8:53 min/mile <-------love that I always manage to get at least one mile under 9 minutes, hate that it is never further!!!

Mile 4: 9:00 min/mile

Mile 5: 9:27 min/mile

It was a great run and reminded me that, although I go through periods of having no motivation to go and do it, once I am out there I have a great time.  I just love everything about it.  I love it when it feels easy, I love it when it feels difficult.  I love that it is just my mind, my legs and my lungs that keep me going and I love that I can always do more than I think.  A year or so ago, I would never have believed that I could run for more than a mile without stopping and I would have laughed if you told me that I’d enjoy it.  Now, I can run further than I ever thought I could and actually love doing it.

Taking breaks from exercise is great, especially when feeling tired, but I really need to set a time limit on how long the break will be for, and when that time is up get back into the habit of regular exercise.  It makes me feel great about myself and is the one time when all body image issues go out the window – I don’t care what I look like when I’m running, I’m just grateful that I can run at all.  Corny but so true.