Since the larger, more focused posts take me an excessively long time to pull together I thought I would try shorter more frequent ones that I'm calling Quick Hits for now. They might be a training recap, or update on injury, or whatever I feel like sharing in the moment. Those are usually things that I have not shared in the past because there was a larger post that needed my attention and it doesn't seem that important.
What I've learned from blogging and following the social media exploits of others is that the minutiae matters. I don't think there is enough out there about the grind that we as athletes go through. We tend to think that it's small potatoes, or that no one cares, but when I read about athletes I admire (Devon Yanko, Krissy Moehl) I find myself wondering WHAT ELSE happened. What are you focusing on in your training or life right now? What does balancing work and training and relationships look like? Where do you feel like you come up short? What happens when things take an unexpected turn?
I'm obviously not an elite athlete but I do work two jobs while trying to train and tend to important personal relationships. I've sacrificed some interests for others. I feel like I'm dropping at least 2 of the 7 balls I have in the air on a daily basis and I know I'm not the only one. I often choose to sleep in rather than get my workout done before work. I know my nutrition needs some TLC but I choose ice cream over kale on a regular basis. Quick hits will share those moments of less than awesome choices and the moments where I come close to getting it right.
Kicking off this first post, I'm back on running hiatus. I've got a niggle that is becoming more of a niggle so I'm taking the next month off from running. Sigh. I didn't take this well for the first 24 hours. Curled up on the couch under a blanket and fought off the ugly cry. Wasn't interested in silver linings or other opportunities for improvement. I did, however, make better choices in those 24 hours than I usually do. No junk food. No food for the sake of eating feelings. No adult beverages. I'll take that progress any day.
The next evening I was thinking about what I could spend time on. Dialing in on nutrition. Getting more sleep. GETTING STRONGER. Asking for more/longer spin workouts. Using the community pool before it closes for the season. Meeting the step goal on my Garmin. Setting a minimum calorie burn on my Garmin. I'm not saying that I am going to DOALLTHETHINGS but now that I've pouted I need to focus on what I can do. It certainly isn't going to be an easy month. My race calendar is blank now. Without a target to work towards I struggle to be consistent in my training, even with a coach who sees whether I complete my workouts. Some days I just run out of f*cks to give.
That is the quick hit for today. Future ones will be quicker now that we've got the logistics covered. I'm on a Facebook hiatus right now so please be sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram where I'm quite active @ImTheMarigold!