I was inspired by my fab communications maven Laura Scholz who recently wrote a very moving and personal blog about her ex. And for those of you who know me, I’m generally a very open person, but I haven’t tried that kind of honesty and openness in the virtual world just yet. So here goes.
I once referred to myself as a “recovering triathlete.” After my second Ironman race, Ironman Wisconsin, in 2004, i was burned out on the sport. I haven’t stepped foot in a pool since and have only been on my bike a handful of times. There was a medical reason why I gave both up for a while, but then it also became an excuse. I did continue to run and completed several half-marathons and a marathon up until I had to stop running just over 2 years ago when I got pregnant. Being high risk, I had to be very careful during my pregnancy and I was probably more cautious than I needed to be. But I still ended up on bedrest for 10 weeks before my son arrived. After his arrival and working full time, I couldn’t begin to figure out how to get in a regular workout anymore. And this is despite having a spin bike and full gym in our basement. Sleep deprivation left me exhausted.
Fast forward to February of this year when I quit my full time job to be at home more with my son and to officially launch my own business. The workouts haven’t been more regular as I had hoped. I need a tangible goal out in front of me in order to be in the physical shape that I want to be and am capable of being. So after reading on facebook that a friend of mine signed up for a women’s sprint tri at the beginning of August, I decided to take the plunge, hoping that it would give me motivation to get back in shape. All in time to start working on baby #2.
While the motivation is now out in front of me, I still haven’t been as good about my workouts as I need to be. Apparently that hasn’t been enough as I’ve yet to go to the pool, the bike is still in the basement in desperate need of a tune-up and I’ve only ridden the spin bike once for 20 minutes. I’ve been managing 1-2 runs a week and strength training about that much as well. Definitely not enough for a sprint tri (though my old mentality still exists back when I was in Ironman shape when I could do a sprint half asleep).
So I’m trying to focus on why I want to get back in shape and find my inner athlete again, not just for aesthetic reasons, but the way it makes me feel. Also I want to bring up my son in a household that embraces physical activity and model athleticism for him. Now I just have to figure out how to schedule it all into my day. Sure I’m busy, but I’m often not as productive as I need to be or should be. No more excuses. Only I can hold myself accountable (and certainly opening up here helps!). Feel free to share your personal accountability and motivation tips.
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