Training for your goals takes consistency. Having a schedule and accountability can help you improve your performance and become a better athlete but it is also important to respect your body and meet it where it is at.
I used to try to hit every workout perfectly and never miss any of it. I sacrificed my joy to get in every last tenth of a mile. I pushed through being sick, burnt out and injured because I didn’t want to be weak or not meet my goals. The result was losing joy in my life in exchange for a badge of being tough. I was so tough that I often times never even made it to the starting line because I was injured or burnt out and my quality of life suffered! Looking back it was not worth ignoring the signs my body was giving me to earn that badge of honor for having grit.
When working with my athletes I encourage them to honor their bodies and their mind. I don’t expect any of my athletes to be perfect or hit every workout. I am not perfect, my training isn’t perfect and yours shouldn’t be either.
When faced with little twinges, lack of motivation, exhaustion, severe muscle pain or an invitation to do something fun with friends make sure to prioritize rest and making time to be social. This does’t mean skipping a month of workouts. It means you can shorten a run, take a zero day, go to that party and have some fun food and drinks or take a day to do absolutely nothing. I love to take photographs, paint, read or write on my days off. Find activities to do that are fulfilling your soul! Go get coffee with friends, take a painting class, go to a museum, just be! Your body will thank you and you will see greater gains when you allow yourself to be rested and happy. Your body will maximize recovery when you are happy and rested.
Don’t be too strict with your food! I never encourage my athletes to deny themselves fun food or drinks. In moderation you will not get sick or pack on the pounds if at least 80% of your diet is healthy and you pick one day a week to play. Disordered eating is a struggle for men and women. I communicate with my athletes to make sure they have a healthy relationship with food. Some people have personal preferences about eating meat, veggies, dairy or have food intolerances and allergies so they need to adjust their diet but there is always fun to be had with food no matter what style of food consumption you follow! I have an anaphylactic reaction to soy and peanuts which can be challenging but it forces me to look at labels and learn and even better to create meals at home without the risk of an allergy! We love Thai, Indian, Japanese and Mexican food so we cook these ourselves! Play around with cooking!
I don’t believe in using food as a reward and encourage my athletes to look at their play day as just that. They don’t have to run 4 hours to eat a cupcake or get a beer. Don’t use fun food as a reward for long days as that is disordered eating. Obviously it would not be healthy to eat and drink junk all of the time but again if you can be healthy 80% of the time you will be fine and happier because you can go out for that Thursday night drink with friends and eat that cake your coworker brought into work. What I am saying is don’t save your play day for a long run day. If it is mid week or weekend it doesn’t matter and exercise should be play time. You aren’t a dog. Don’t use food as a reward.
My wish for all of you reading this is that you find joy in not being perfect. It is our imperfections that make us unique and beautiful. The best part of a person is the part that doesn’t fit into a box. Embrace it! Allow yourself to adjust your workouts when your body is telling you it needs rest. Take time to play with your non running friends. Eat that cake, drink that glass of wine. Love yourself for everything you are and everything you are not. Forgive yourself for not being perfect and most of all always choose joy.
If you would like help with achieving your goals and learning how to honor your body reach out and let’s see if we would work well together! If you are looking for guidance on life and would like to talk with me about a training plan for life challenges I also offer single session and monthly life coaching plans.
Enjoy the holidays and remember…Choose joy!