Keeping it All in Perspective: The ups and the downs

So against the advice of Show No Weakness coach I am going to just touch on something that I don't think gets enough press.   And that is the training funk.  Fact is it happens to everyobody.  No one has perfect rosey amazing training sessions every day all year long, no matter how much time they spend Tweeting the contrary. Can you find at least ONE thing that went well in each session?  Yes. That you can do- and you can have all the right thoughts knowing it will be OK that the workout didn't go as planned and that tomorrow will be a better day.  Thise are essential tools in your mental too kit!

I am writing about this as I think that I am on the other side of Struggle St. (thank you Hillary Biscay for the name) headed straight to Breakthrough Ave.  But maybe you read this blog and you have never had to deal with this cycle before.  The cycle that includes thoughts like, Why isn't my weight budging?  Why am I so tired?  Why am I not running like I did in October? Why is Suzy Triathlete able to do so much and not be tired?

There are a few simple answers to these questions.  1.  It's EARLY people!  I need to be reminded of this often.  We take a break after the season to rebuild our bodies and minds, much needed!  I didn't run for 7 weeks.  Should I be able to run like I did in Kona?  NO!  And why do I expect to?  Expecting grateness all the time from ourselves is a great quality but it can also hold us back and throw us into these cycles.  Will the speed and strength come back quickly?  Yes, but you must be patient and above all, keep the faith in yourself.  Otherwise you may find yourself burnt out by March and injured from trying ot do more when a bit of rest might be just what the Dr. ordered.

I am getting to a point where I have been doing this long enough that I am starting to recognize these cycles.  This one in particular.  It comes, I get down on myself and wonder why life is so tough.  Thankfully this year, I stopped the pity party for one afterjust a bit of sulking and said OK chica, you know this happens and you also know that on the other side of this is the strenght that you have been looking for.  Keep Calm and Carry on as MBK would tell you. 

So that is what I did, coach took one session off the books last week and then it was back to normal.  I had a BIG weekend and had fun doing it.  So just know that when you hit a rough patch, you are on your way to better things.  If you keep on keeping on with your healthy eating and being consistent in your training, you will appear on the other side of the street and be ready to knock out your goals for the season.