Spiritual Food
New Running Shoes
Yoga and Stretching
Lots and Lots of Water
Time to Zone Out to "nothing important"
Balance Balance Balance!
Somewhere along the road of this marathon training cycle, I almost lost myself in trying to stretch myself too thin. As the mileage increased and the workouts got more challenging, I started dropping one thing and then another from the above list so that I could fit in my "Miles" and get the workouts done. The workouts were checked off but I was slowly chipping myself and my well being and centeredness off a little at a time. I was trying to be Mom, Wife, Friend and Runner Extraordinaire. And now here I am with hairy legs, dead toenails that still have remnants of my last pedicure in August, eyebrows that need plucking, tight muscles that have not been stretched properly, shoes that have been worn away....
So glad I had a wake up call and have picked up a little wisdom along the way. I took yesterday off of running and today I just did some light elliptical at the gym with some yoga. Now the agenda for the day is to:
* get a pedicure
* read a mindless gossip magazine
* buy myself a coffee
* Be thankful that I snapped out of my one-way track towards self-destruction and injury!
Goals for the rest of my training:
* Take time to really stretch!! Not just the 1 minute job I've been doing
* CROSS TRAIN...Hello!!! I had every intention to doing spin on Thursdays. Where did this go??
* Yoga
* New Shoes
* Keeping my training in MY sweet spot and not pushing myself too hard. It is easy for me to get caught up in comparing myself to what others are doing. Especially people I respect and admire. What works for them might not work for me and I need to do what works for me right now as a mother of 3 young ones! 50 miles a week is PLENTY for me! And if I am going to increase, I need to do it gradually.
* Remember to fuel my body appropriately.
And last but not least....
I plan to Enjoy this beautiful girl of mine on her 6th birthday weekend! So thankful for her. My sweet E!
Is there anything that you've been forgetting to take time for? What important things to you find yourself forgetting when life gets busy?
Amanda
Great advice not to put the miles above everything else!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to your beautiful daughter!
:)
I'm glad you are getting some "you" time! And your daughter is seriously so precious!!!
ReplyDeleteBalance is always a challenge for me. Good thing you got recalibrated!
ReplyDeletecutest
ReplyDeletephoto
EVER!
ENjoy your day.
A pedi - sounds fab!
I completely neglect eating good and hydrating myself when I'm stressed or busy. Thank you for saying that it's easy for you to get caught up in comparing yourself to others...I do this WAY too often. Gotta stop and do MY best!
ReplyDeleteI love the picture... the two of you are beautiful! I hope the birthday celebration was wonderful and that you were able to fully enjoy it :)
ReplyDeleteYay for balance! I need to work on that one all the time. This is such a great reminder delivered in the awesome Amanda method of thoughtfulness and intention :) LOVE it.
WOW, you two are gorgeous! Happy b-day little E:) I completely understand what you are saying. I did the exact same thing and it literally killed me off.....I am glad you figured it out:) Enjoy your coffee and magazine!!
ReplyDeleteI am jealous of your pedicure and my eyebrows could definitely use some help:)
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you took the day off yesterday. IT is just what you needed.
Adorable picture...I loved 6. it is a great age:) happy birthday E.
What a nice Saturday! Gosh I'm jealous. I'm glad that you are listening to your body and knowing your limits, this is the most difficult part of being a runner. Hope your daughters bday is wonderful, I love the way she is snuggling into you. It looks so sweet.
ReplyDeleteSo funny, I also got a pedicure and read a mindless gossip magazine today. We are like soul sisters.
ReplyDeleteI had a mani pedi this week, my first EVER pedicure. Took about 2 hours, and I enjoyed it, but I wondered, how do people have time for that on a regular basis? I do not understand. Ha! I guess I would rather spend my time training rather than pampering, but I certainly LOVE the occasional massage.
ReplyDeleteSo happy you took some time to recover. Hard days, easy days - ALWAYS!
I'm glad you didn't lose yourself. I would have missed you:) Easy to get caught up. I thought I wanted to be a triathlete for a week awhile back, NEEDED to be a triathlete for a week actually until my husband reminded me that I'm afraid of open water and I hate swimming.....What part of Jenn ACTUALLY wanted to be a triathlete and which part just felt the need to "keep up with the Jones's"?? I realize I can TOTALLY respect and admire those who can pull out that amazing training. I can be motivated, inspired, driven by them but when it comes right down to it, I need to be proud of Jenn and what SHE can do at this point! SHE works pretty damn hard for HER:) Who knows, perhaps one day I will actually truly want to enter the tri world, but I'm pretty sure it will be for the RIGHT reasons!! Anyways, the point of this MASSIVE ramble about me was that I'm SO glad YOU'VE regrouped a bit and realized what it is that makes YOU thrive!!! This is right where you want to be:)
ReplyDeleteI just LOVE that picture and your eyebrows look great to me! Shave your legs though....
Your agenda sounds fabulous! Mindless gossip, coffee, a pedicure!!! Hope you have a blast with your little beauty this weekend:)
One of these days I will leave a one line comment, I promise:)
FABULOUS POST!!! A great reminder to me as well - thank you. I tend to get wound up in the training as well. Happy Birthday to your daughter!
ReplyDeleteAwesome post!
ReplyDeleteI love that picture at the end. That is the sweetest picture ever!
Remember - make sure you shave those legs BEFORE the pedicure.
ReplyDeleteI Agree!! I just had a talk with my coach last week and told him he had to decrease my mileage so I can feel sane again;) xx
ReplyDeleteI have been wanting to comment for days but hey - I too have been avoiding the things I should have been doing!
ReplyDeleteGreat post as always - your post has prompted me to take advantage of the Sunday morning quiet to sit down with my journal. Thank you sweet Amanda - you always bring me back to where I need to be! Have a wonderful birthday weekend with your girl!
I know what you mean about everything else going out the window and I just have 1 baby so I cannot imagine with 3 how I would feel! The first thing that goes out the window for me is my yoga, cross training, and diet! ARGGGG!!!
ReplyDeleteI try but at the end of the day I just want to do nothing which sounds so sad. My new monthly goal is to include these things that bring me back to my center and make me feel more well rounded.
I also think I am in a mode of trying to cram everything in and sometimes that means falling behind on things that are really important to me. I feel a certain ammount of pressure to be here or there and to make other people happy. I feel so good when I make time for yoga and CT and really REALLY need to pay attention and be mindful about my eating. Thank goodness I have you to help me with these posts to remember what the heck I am doing these days LOL!
Always good to catch it before it's too late. It's so easy to get caught up in training and lose sight of the other stuff in life.
ReplyDeleteYour little girl is adorable! Happy birthday to her.
It is so easy to let running take over your life. I think that's why I am doing just one more half this year, then not anymore. I want to run for fun and to stay healthy. It's easy to read blogs and get caught up in wanting to do more--but you have to do what is right for you. I'm glad you caught yourself in time and are enjoying some of the sweet things in life.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to your daughter! That's a really cute picture of you two.
ReplyDeleteThe pedicure, in particular, sounds wonderful.
you're dedication to running has been/is an inspiration and motivation to me, but i really appreciate that you pay attention to the importance of balance in your life. without that, nothing really works well.
ReplyDeletei did a yoga workshop yesterday and it reminded me of how much i used to love it. i think that's going to be a huge part of finding a lasting balance in my life.
hope you enjoyed your pedicure!! Happy Birthday to E!! ( :
Glad you're feeling more balanced. And there's nothing better than a good pedicure! Happy birthday to your cute girl!
ReplyDeleteGood for you, for getting back to the "forgotten" things. Happy 6th birthday to your daughter!
ReplyDeleteI love that picture!!
ReplyDeleteI've neglected to take more time for my spouse, to really ask how her day was and to really listen. I've neglected to take more time for myself. I always have so much going on that I don't just breathe.
P.S. I need new running shoes too. Still trying to decide if I should branch out.
GORGEOUS! Happy birthday E! How can YOU have a 6 year old?!?!
ReplyDeleteIt is SO hard during peak training to find balance. I am very proud of you for making the effort to scale back and find that equilibrium.
ReplyDeleteBeen thinking alot about you and your foot. Couldn't get on here for a few days and was tempted to stalk you and give you a phone call. Hope that the bump is going away.
Beautiful girl there!!! Happy #6 to her!!!