Day 1
I haven’t raced in a while. A long while. I’m cool with that.
I have a heart condition, (exercise induced tachycardia), and this year I changed my cardiologist and came off a heart rate regulating medication that wasn’t really working. We are watching to see how my body responds to different types, intensities and durations of activity without the meds. Praise God – so far so good. The goal of this exploration with Drs and an exercise physiologist is to see what my training and maximum levels should be to stay safe while achieving better performance.
That’s not really the reason I haven’t raced. Most of the year, I just have not felt led to do so and with no race to train for, I ran when I wanted. (Well, sometimes the fit of my jeans changed the run from a want to a need LOL). The distance, speed, type of run was based on what I felt like doing that day. I was a bit burned out. Moving for the sake of moving and trying new things was a welcomed departure. I believe listening to my body and stepping away from a constant training mode for a while helped keep me injury free. I thank God that in my years running, my only injuries have been a few blisters and missing toe nails.
That said, even though I stayed active to the tune of over 100 miles most months. But as I review my activity, this year off has been an off year. These last few months, my consistency hasn’t felt very consistent.
My baseline is best performance when I have a goal with a timeline. Something shiny and desirable that I have to put in the work to get, keeps me focused and checks my exercise ADD. For me, waking up with the thought – “How do I feel like exercising today” is a nice diversion. But a constant of that kind of go with the flow is not as comfortable or nearly as productive as knowing the activities on my plan for the day and how they fit into an overall picture.
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| image source: globalgiving.org |
This year confirmed that’s how I’m made.
So, active ‘break’ time is over. I’m ready for a return to structure. After my birthday quasi-duathlon, I set a short term goal, created a periodized training plan and hit the road for the Day 1 activity – a short timed run. The run itself felt miserable, but mentally, it was as if all was golden in my exercise world. Checking done and noting the details in my log felt-so-GOOD!
My lessons/reminders for today.
- Stay in tune with myself and be ok when what I want/need changes.
- Don’t get too comfortable.
- Work what works.
What outlook/process is best to keep you progressing?