I have always been somewhat of an extremist. Unable to see the gray between black and white. The way I approach exercise and diet is no exception. It's either free range organic or cheetos and corn dogs. Chugging diet coke or downing green smoothies.
I regularly go through phases of working out 5 days a week for months on end. One day I will give myself a little slack and quickly enter a period of weeks (ok fine, months) where I do no exercise at all. My latest attempt to give myself a kick in the you know what was signing up for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler here in DC. Keep in mind the longest race I have run is a 5 Miler back in March of 09'. Signing up for a 10 Mile race where they ask you to leave the course if you drop below a 12 minute/mile pace is hard core. Crazy town. Looney tunes.
I began to train for the race but some overwhelming thoughts came on quickly. I am not really a runner. Can I really run 10 miles? What if I am the slowest runner and get kicked off the course? Why am I forcing myself to do a 10 mile race? Do I even LIKE running?
Right about now you are probably expecting an inspirational end to this story. Something like I did it anyways and it was the best experience of my life! Quite the opposite- Yesterday I sold my race bib to someone who really wanted to run the race.
I really thought about if I had any desire to run 10 miles. Turns out I really didn't and was completley dreading it. I like running as much as the next gal but the whole race element really stressses me out. With two kiddos it is hard to get in every workout on a training plan without getting up at 4:30 a.m. every morning. I am sure I am preaching to the choir to you ladies. We all have enough on our plate without adding extra layers of stress. I feel a weight off my shoulders since I made this decision. Here's to giving ourselves a break when we need it dolls.
So instead of beating myself up about dropping out of the race, I bought myself a little gift, the Tracy Anderson Metamorphosis workout dvd's. Tracy is Gwyneth's Paltrow's trainer- need I say more? Her workouts are killer. I am super excited to start this 90 day program and bring you all on the journey with me.
How do you balance work, kids and staying in shape without totally stressing yourself out? I am all ears girlfriends...
