Has anyone seen my mojo? I seem to have misplaced it.
I don't know what is going on with me this week but I am feeling pretty crappy. I'm unmotivated, tired of being sore, somewhat cranky and I only have one pair of pants that fits me well - everything else is too tight. Most days I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle with this knee issue. Some days are great but they seem to be few and far between. I'm trying to work on building my mileage up but it's hard. Because I'm using different muscles, my legs get tired faster. Some runs feel like a struggle. I have yet to have any recent runs feel truly amazing. I long for that time to come.
I'm also building strength training back in to my routine which has been tough on my body. I did deadlifts with a 40lb kettlebell on Tuesday and I'm still having trouble walking. 40lbs. I used to be able to deadlift 100lbs. It's depressing to see how much strength I've lost in a year. I know it will come back and I know it's not about how much weight I can deadlift but I kind of feel like Samson when he got all his hair cut off.
To top it all off, my body is changing. My once lean, fairly shapely legs feel more like tree trunks now. I know that's really not what people see but that's what it feels like to me. I can tell by the way my jeans fit that things are different. My hormones also seem to have lost their shit. This might be TMI for any of the guys reading but I'm going to share anyway. The minute I finish ovulating, I bloat. And it's not just a little bit of bloating. I go from everything fitting me just fine to everything is swollen and sore within a 24 hour period and I stay like that for several days. To add insult to injury, I'm breaking out in cystic acne. Luckily they're only a few that show up but none the less, they are painful and unsightly. I remember my Mom getting acne like this when she was in her 50's. I seriously hope that this is not going to be the norm for me moving forward. I had enough issues as a teenager, I really don't need them again in my 40's.
So, how do I beat the blahs?
Sign up for a half ironman of course. Because that's just what I do.
I hinted at this a few weeks ago with the caveat that I was going to see how my running progressed. Well, I"m still not even remotely close to where I'd like to be but the race was close to being sold out so G and I hopped on the bandwagon. I purchased the injury insurance just to be safe so if my knees get worse and I can't run, I won't be stupid and push myself just because I signed up. The really exciting part about this is that I will actually get to meet my Tri Talk Tuesday co-host Cynthia as she is also racing. So is Kristen from Sweat Courage as well as several folks I follow on Instagram so it's going to be a big social media par-tay weekend! I'm pretty excited about that.
This means that I have to buckle down and stick to my training plan. With no coach to report to, I've found it easy to shorten workouts or skip them entirely. I can't do that anymore. There's roughly 2 months till race day so I've got my work cut out for me. Nothing like a little challenge to light the fire, right?
Happy Friday gang!
Who's racing this weekend?
5 comments:
Nothing like signing up for a race to help find your mojo! I'm still looking for mine, let me know if you see it lying around anywhere. :-)
I am sorry to hear that you are finding yourself in a rut and are down about the way you both look and feel. I definitely have months like this, particularly around the holidays and post-race season when nothing is going on. You will get your mojo back. I think signing up for Eagleman is a great way to get re-inspired and excited about fitness/training/etc. Whenever I start feeling down, a race is the perfect solution. :)
Ah! So sorry you're feeling down and generally BLAH. I think signing up for a race really does help with the mojo. Just a suggestion, but it could also be the NEVER. ENDING. WINTER. So the change this weekend could maybe help! YAY!And you're body is awesome. If you ever want your legs to not feel like tree trunks, just take a photo beside me when we're both wearing spandex. I promise to out-thunder-thigh anyone else out there (except MAYBE some male cyclist - even then it could be close). ;-)
My 40s were rough like that. Things did get better for me as I got closer to 50, tho. Weird, right? Just keep pushing through it. You'll get it back.
I feel as though I could have written this post last week I felt tired, sloppy, and weak. Luckily, the sun started shining a little more here in North Western Ontario and I was able to get outside for my runs. Now i feel i little more spring in my step. although I am still always tired, must be a triathlete thing.
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