Over the last two weeks, I've been in a bit of a slump (perfect timing as I have a half-marathon in a week and a half, right?). I'm not sure where this slump came from but it [felt like] it hit pretty hard. The first week, I worked out only once. The second week I was determined to do better but only managed to workout twice. As a person who strives to workout at least 5-6 times a week, this was a big deal for me. Not to mention that the more days I missed, the harder it was to motivate to workout again. The dread that built up inside of me before a planned workout was almost paralyzing and I lacked the mental gusto/"mind over a matter" push I normally have during my workouts once I did start the workout. As soon as the workout got a little comfortable, I was ready to stop. A 3 mile run felt like eternity. I felt like I lost some of my "juice" - that little bit of something that pushes you to work hard even when you don't want to.
I started a new job about a month and a half ago and I think one of the reasons for my slump is that I haven't yet established a comfortable schedule that allows me to work long hours, cook, workout and spend time with my fiance (I can't even imagine what life with a kid is like; working moms are truly superwomen.) Right now I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm going to have to get used to less sleep and that my week day workouts HAVE to take place in the morning or at lunch. Since day light savings time has occurred, it gets dark here around 4:00/4:30 pm and I don't run in the dark. I live in a pretty safe neighborhood but I'm just not comfortable with it. I tried once and turned around to head back home after one mile because all I could think about was (1) how I would protect myself if somebody jumped out and tried to steal me and (2) how mad my Momma would be if I ended up dying because I didn't have the sense not to run at night by myself. If I cant fit it in in the morning or at lunch, more and more of my workouts will be limited to the treadmill. Early on in my running, I loved the treadmill. Now, not so much.
In the past waking up early has been really difficult, but this week (my first week OUT of my slump) I've been doing a good job of waking up early and I'm actually finding that I enjoy it. I started putting my work blackberry in the kitchen and setting it for 5:15 am. The alarm on that things is WILDLY obnoxious but having to actually leave the bedroom and walk to the kitchen to turn it off, gets me out of bed. That's usually the hardest part for me. Once I'm out of the bed, I can usually talk myself into working out nowadays. Getting up at 5:15 also allows me to get to work early, usually sometime between 7:30 and 8:00am, which then gives me more time to ease into my work day, potentially bill more hours, and increases the likelihood I can get home at a decent time. The only problem with this early rise time is that by 9:00pm I'm exhausted and ready to go to bed. This does not bode well for quality time with my fiance and since I'm up and out long before he rises, it kind of sucks. I know that working out regularly/getting the body that I want/reaching new fitness goals requires sacrifice, so something has to give. I am hoping that after a month or so, I will get adjusted to this schedule, body will need less sleep and everything will fall into place. Although I hate people who tweet things like "rise and grind" and "money never sleeps" and other ridiculous slogans/cliches like that, I do envy people who have the ability to work without getting tired. That kind of discipline is inspiring, so hopefully I'll get some of that.
I am happy to say that this week has been going well for me so far. I haven't been able to follow my training plan to the T but I have been able to workout twice so far this week and feel like next weekend's half marathon should go well. I ran 10 miles two weeks ago and will run a 10 miler again this weekend. Monday, I started my day with a 3 mile run and then did an Insanity workout with my co-worker after work. Tuesday, I let my body rest because I was pretty sore and didn't want to also work myself too hard since I do have the half-marathon coming up. Yesterday, I hit the gym during my lunch break and did a run that totaled 4.15 miles (2 mile run + 2(2:00, 3:00) AIs + 1(4:00) AI. The training plan called for one more 4:00 (AI) + 2 more miles but I didn't have enough time to get all that done during my lunch break. I had hoped to workout again when I got home but I had work that had to get done so that took priority.
Today I'm shooting for either a simple 5 mile run OR a 5 mile run + 4(2:00)AIs + 6GPs. We'll see how I feel. One thing that I've decided to do coming out of this slump is to institute a new personal rule - Never go longer than two days without a workout. I have to accept the fact that there will be some days when it is impossible for me to fit in a workout. However, the longer I wait to workout, the harder it gets and I HATE that feeling. When I go longer than two days without working out, I start to feel "blah" and the process of starting to workout again becomes mentally difficult. So, 2 days. 2 days only [barring illness, of course].
Lastly, I picked a dress.
I love it but in order to do it justice, I need to have some amazing arms and a sculpted back. Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be looking for a good upper body workout so if you have any suggestions, please send them my way.
