I have been fighting a battle with myself ever since I started this big weight loss explosion just before I turned 40 and the big thing was......Keep going...no matter what. They tell you to walk less...walk more. They tell you to workout less...workout more. They tell you to run less...run more. I think this comes from a lifetime of being told NO and so inside I am saying Hell YES! and it has worked pretty well for me. This winner take all attitude has led me to some pretty incredible places since 2009. I have seen highs I never thought I would ever see. A new career that I LOVE. Some great new challenges and a great set of people to hang out with. And I felt YOUNG.
Now I have to cut down a bit on my activities and so this has me in a quandary. How do I keep feeling young and gung ho when I am being forced to rest? Well there is the definition of rest. Rest can be anything from sleeping soundly to taking a breather between laps. And taking a rest doesn't mean you aren't tough. In fact resting the body can lead to being tougher because you are doing the hard thing for an athlete. For someone who loves to run then running is the easier thing. Resting can be taken as a punishment. A punishment for overdoing it..overtraining....not training well enough to handle the stresses. It can also make someone like me feel all of a sudden....OLD. I see rest and i think sitting on the couch, getting fat again, not being able to do the things I like to do.
I am not old. I am not inferm. This does not lead instantly to nursing homes, fiber supplements and adult diapers. It only means it's time to take a bit of a break after all the intense stuff I have put my body through. I can still run. I can still do what I love. Just have to manage it in a different way. And learn to swim. I liked being in the pool today. If I knew what I was doing it would have been even better!
I know I will make mistakes. I will probably do some running maybe I shouldn't do because I will get bored and lonely at home and just want to hit that group run or track workout. I will be training for the hoosier half marathon but doing it differently than I would have done. I will do flatrock if I have to do the 25K instead of the 50K I can decide that when the time draws closer. I will start training for Flatrock in two weeks. That will give me 7 long months to take my time building up to the bigger miles and taking a week off here or there and cross-training instead. I am excited. I will get in my Ultra. And I will do my DINO races. And I will do my one half marathon. And I will be happy. Because it is not the quantity of the races. IT is the quality yes?
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