Because I declare it so….Starting Today!
That doesn’t mean I am going to pretend everything is perfect, and rosy…..and easy. It just means that if I’m complaining about something….then it needs to be for the purposes of figuring it out..and fixing it. Constructive Complaints Only!! LOL, I think there is such a thing.
This week, two friends have called me an athlete. Both times I shook my head, and said No. Just No. I told one that I still had too much body fat for that to be true. A few days later when it happened again, I told the other that THAT word doesn’t associate with me, but …maybe someday….because I liked the sound of it.
No Diane…not someday……Now. There is only Now. Cut It Out! Now! Not tomorrow. N.O.W!!
What I learned about myself this week is that when I start losing my focus, losing my way, so to speak….I need to go looking for my support system that will tell me like it is, kick my butt and straighten me out! When I stay to myself and try to deal on my own, I tend to get sad, lose my steam, kind of like a deflating balloon. I’ve never had a fighting spirit. I’m building that fighting spirit, and while I’m in the building phase….I need some help sustaining it. What I know now is that I let this go on too long before I go looking for help. I’m going to go looking for help when I feel it starting from now on.
The “Coach” is Marathon Brian. He’s the one I go to for real practical advice. He’s been there. He’s fought the good fight, and won. Somedays I email with Brian, other days….when I KNOW I need a boost…..I call him. Marathon Brian is always a little hesitant to be rough with me….LOL, …but hell Dude,,,,you have my permission to kick my butt when I need it! Because I KNOW that you want the best for me. I KNOW you want me to cross that finish line almost as much as I want it.
Sometimes I find myself getting whiney. I’m thinking too much about all of this. I’m getting bugs in my head about things I’m anxious about …like the 10 mile run…..and I just worry and worry and then the whining begins. I feel like I KNOW what I am capable of……but my old self wants it to be easier. What Marathon Brian told me today is that a workout HAS to feel like work….otherwise I’m doing it wrong. If it’s feeling too easy, then its time to PUSH, to kick it up a notch. This is what my “Coach” taught me today. It’s True. It’s Real. It’s Hard. And it’s good advice. So stop whining Diane. Stop hitting the pavement “hoping” it will be easier today. It’s NOT EVER going to be easy. Because this Marathon Game we’re playing is all about turning up the “difficulty dial” one little notch at a time. Kinda like putting the frog into the pot and turning up the heat. Turn up the heat a little at a time…and he won’t jump out. We’re going to be boiling in that pot before long. Stop minding the heat! That’s the trick. Stop Minding. Whew….That’s a Challenge!
My other “coach” is a WW friend, a marine ….and his advice this week seemed so perfect in its simplicity. He taught me that “to be an athlete, I need to start thinking like one.” Yup, I think he’s onto something there. How am I supposed to become an athlete if I keep turning away from the word? I need to embrace it. Identify with it. If I expect to become it.
I felt great all day after these chats…one electronic, one telephonic…..but both GREAT! My head is now officially screwed on right, until next week. When I will go back for another butt kicking, I’m sure! It’s all good!
I drove home from work in CT in extremely slow Friday traffic. 3 hours 15 mins in the car. UGH. I walked through my front door at 7:15pm and by then my drive to run my Interval Run had waned some. BUT>>>> in order to “EARN” my dinner, I put on those sneakers, and went to the treadmill and BANGED. IT. OUT! Whew….Did I feel good afterwards! I moved my recovery pace up to 5.2 from 5.0. Incrementally better, Diane. Incrementally better. We’ll be boiling that frog any day now….any day now.
Ciao for now….Diane