I mean, a looonnnngggg break? Sure I’ve had lots of really great excuses, and I haven’t taken a total fitness break, but still… I haven’t been sticking to my training plan, and it shows! Should I blame Covid? Family time? The stress of teaching? Injuries? Nope. I can only blame myself since I get to control my thoughts on all of these things!

Has this happened to you before? When you worked super hard to feel comfortable with something, and then it just falls away? Now it feels laborious and like all that work was wasted and useless. Not a good head-space, right?

So, I’ve been gearing up this past week, and this weekend was my personal call to action. My own kick in my ass, so to speak. I’m finished with excuses, and totally ready to begin again – in several areas of my life.

Here’s my backstory blame game – I took some time off after completing my first Half Ironman (Pumpkinman 70.3) in August 2019 and then running my first marathon 7 weeks later (Marine Corps Marathon). When I got back to it, winter had set in and I had nothing on my race calendar for quite a few months, so I was understandably lax throughout the winter. Then, March 2020. I didn’t completely lay off, but since all races were canceled I also didn’t push myself too hard. In August 2020 I went on a training run with my husband and stupidly tried to keep up with him for some fartleks (interval runs). I gave myself peroneal tendonitis that led to achilles tendonitis and months of PT – effectively taking me out of the running game until February 2021. Then we went back to in-person teaching in March. High stress levels equal low energy levels for me. Ugh. Pity party.

So I spent the Spring and Summer running while also being pissed off that I still sucked. I was slower than ever and couldn’t hit the mileage that I had worked so hard to attain the year before. I was pushing but in the wrong ways. I have a fantastic training plan (thank you TriDot!) but I wasn’t using it properly. Fear. Blame. Excuses! What if I stuck to the plan and still couldn’t regain what I’d lost?

It’s a good thing to keep in mind that I do get to control my own thoughts. We all do!!

Enough of this. I went on a run with my running club on Thursday. I was the slowest one there, but it’s such a great group that I felt lifted UP, rather than put down. I started getting excited about running again. I reached out to some triathlon friends for fitness accountability and some business friends for accountability in my Health and Wellness business. This became the weekend of change. I’m getting into the swing of teaching in-person again, both of my children are now in college and my daughter just moved into her dorm room yesterday. OMG we’re empty nesters. I got busy! I biked yesterday and ran today, testing and resetting my paces so I can build from where I am now rather than trying to reach for where my workouts were set last year. I’ve reached out to some more people about my business and that excites me too. I can never forget that just over 5 years ago I was 20 pounds heavier and uncomfortably napping on the couch every afternoon. A one-mile run was not on my radar (actually a half-mile run wasn’t either). Now I love to help my friends get off their couches and start participating in their lives too. Hey, let me know if you’d like some help here. I’m back in the game and love accountability!