Secret Weapon Emily runs with me and Kay
It is funny how when you are on vacation time seems to not be of any consequence. I was able to swim, bike, run, tutor six kids two days a week, and still have plenty of time to spend with my family and friends. Three weeks ago the realities of time finally kicked in. For some reason (insert sarcastic tone), I cannot seem to fit in everything I need and want to do without feeling absolutely exhausted. For some reason (again sarcastic) my ten hour work days are making it difficult for me to do everything I found time for this summer. I am taking my daily supplements, I am sleeping at least seven hours a night, and still, when I wake up at 5:00 am to work out like I have all summer, my body is protesting on a more regular basis than usual.
And before you ask it--yes, I am taking a rest day, I am eating enough food, and still the alarm seems to be going off a little too early these days. In fact, there were two days this week that I honestly would have rolled over...only I have a couple of secret weapons.
First, as I have shared on numerous occasions, my number one weapon against complacency is my exercise friends. On Tuesday, my alarm went off and, because I wasn't sure if anyone was going to run with me, I actually went back to bed. About twenty minutes later I got a text from Kay saying she was on her way to my house--so I had to quickly get up, get dressed, and head out the door. Once I was on the road with Kay I was completely energized and so happy I hadn't skipped my workout. Everyone needs a collection of secret weapons like I have in Kay, Emily, and Karrie. I can always count on the three of them to get up with me at God- awful hours so we can get our workout in before our days begin.
My second secret weapon is a little more complicated to explain. I basically play tricks on my mind so that I push myself harder even when I don't feel that internal push. For example, on Friday I needed to practice my swimming. Because this is the weak leg in my triathlons, I really feel like I cannot afford to miss any of my planned swim dates. But when my alarm went off at 5 am, I just did not feel like putting on my suit and trudging out to my backyard pool to do my workout--especially since it takes eight lengths of my pool just to go 100m. So I told my lazy self that I needed to get out there and swim, but compromised that I could just do 800m instead of the 1800 I had planned. One thing I do to keep track of my pool distances is that I use a poker chip to represent every 100m I swim. Before I begin, I count out the total number of 100's I need to complete and put the chips in a big pile at the edge of the pool. Every time I do 100m, I move a chip from the pile and place it on the right in a completed pile.
For this swim, even though I had told myself I only needed to swim 800m (eight chips), I put my usual eighteen chips down, just in case. When I finished my 800m I looked at that pile of ten uncompleted chips on the left, and I couldn't bring myself to have a smaller pile of eight completed chips. So, I thought I would just do another 200m to make it an even 1000m, and before I knew it I had completed the entire 1800m by convincing myself to do 200 more meters each time.
We all have times where it is not easy to get out there and do what our bodies need to stay fit. The trick is that you have to find ways to get yourself up and out because once you get going, it is less likely you will go back and curl up in your bed for a few more minutes sleep. You are welcome to borrow my secret weapons (exercise buddies and tricking your mind), but I bet you have some secret weapons of your own. I would love for you to share them with all my readers so that we can all build up a reserve of secret weapons to keep us going on the road to the more flabulous versions of of our current selves.
And before you ask it--yes, I am taking a rest day, I am eating enough food, and still the alarm seems to be going off a little too early these days. In fact, there were two days this week that I honestly would have rolled over...only I have a couple of secret weapons.
First, as I have shared on numerous occasions, my number one weapon against complacency is my exercise friends. On Tuesday, my alarm went off and, because I wasn't sure if anyone was going to run with me, I actually went back to bed. About twenty minutes later I got a text from Kay saying she was on her way to my house--so I had to quickly get up, get dressed, and head out the door. Once I was on the road with Kay I was completely energized and so happy I hadn't skipped my workout. Everyone needs a collection of secret weapons like I have in Kay, Emily, and Karrie. I can always count on the three of them to get up with me at God- awful hours so we can get our workout in before our days begin.
My second secret weapon is a little more complicated to explain. I basically play tricks on my mind so that I push myself harder even when I don't feel that internal push. For example, on Friday I needed to practice my swimming. Because this is the weak leg in my triathlons, I really feel like I cannot afford to miss any of my planned swim dates. But when my alarm went off at 5 am, I just did not feel like putting on my suit and trudging out to my backyard pool to do my workout--especially since it takes eight lengths of my pool just to go 100m. So I told my lazy self that I needed to get out there and swim, but compromised that I could just do 800m instead of the 1800 I had planned. One thing I do to keep track of my pool distances is that I use a poker chip to represent every 100m I swim. Before I begin, I count out the total number of 100's I need to complete and put the chips in a big pile at the edge of the pool. Every time I do 100m, I move a chip from the pile and place it on the right in a completed pile.
For this swim, even though I had told myself I only needed to swim 800m (eight chips), I put my usual eighteen chips down, just in case. When I finished my 800m I looked at that pile of ten uncompleted chips on the left, and I couldn't bring myself to have a smaller pile of eight completed chips. So, I thought I would just do another 200m to make it an even 1000m, and before I knew it I had completed the entire 1800m by convincing myself to do 200 more meters each time.
We all have times where it is not easy to get out there and do what our bodies need to stay fit. The trick is that you have to find ways to get yourself up and out because once you get going, it is less likely you will go back and curl up in your bed for a few more minutes sleep. You are welcome to borrow my secret weapons (exercise buddies and tricking your mind), but I bet you have some secret weapons of your own. I would love for you to share them with all my readers so that we can all build up a reserve of secret weapons to keep us going on the road to the more flabulous versions of of our current selves.
Secret weapon Kay and I riding around Lake Elsinore
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