Image Source: A Piece of Toast Blog
Yesterday was an incredibly difficult day for me. Training for the marathon has been going really well and the bonus is that I can use my cross training day for pole!! I have been incredibly proud of myself and the progress I have made. It hasn't been easy putting in the work everyday but I have. I'm still not sure if the full marathon (42km) will be possible for my body but it's still what I am working towards. I have noticed even my runs getting easier to accomplish. By that I mean less and less I find the need to slow my pace down or even walk for a bit. I am consistently improving and there is nothing more powerful than feeling like you are progressing.
But then I hit a huge wall yesterday. It was one of those days where nothing goes right. I basically woke up on the wrong side of the bed and couldn't shake it for the life of me. I was beyond exhausted, had a headache, was grumpy, felt bloated and uncomfortable, I was running late for absolutely everything I had going on, and then to top it off I left my headphones at home. (I am a type of person who cannot for the life of her run without music blasting through my ears). I decided instead of going right to the gym after work I would head home to grab my earphones and head to the gym afterwards. My poor mood and bodily aches yanked on my will to get my run in and instead of heading right out to the gym I lay on the couch trying to have a nap. After unsuccessfully napping about an hour later I got off my butt and dragged it to the gym. Feeling pretty proud of myself I went in to get changed for my run and got slapped again with icky feelings. I was already feeling pretty gross but then I looked in the mirror and felt uncomfortable. I quickly shook that thought away because I was determined to push through and get my run in.
I got on the treadmill and warmed up. Shortly into the warm up I was completely out of it - i couldn't focus on anything, i couldn't keep pace for the life of me, my body was telling me to stop in every possible way and for the first time since I have really started to train, I quit. I got off of the treadmill, grabbed my coat and got into my car. Tears quickly filled my eyes with pure disappointment in myself. It's not easy for most people to accept defeat but yesterday was definitely my wall.
The neat thing about a wall is that once you hit it, it's time to climb up and over. I'm an incredibly lucky girl because I have some of the best friends in the entire world (just so happens they are Mynx ladies too) and they helped remind me that its okay to have a bad day and to not feel disappointed in myself. I can only go up from here. I think it's important to always surround yourself with a great support system - friends, family, co-workers - whoever! But surround yourself with people who constantly challenge you, motivate you, support you and ultimately are your biggest cheerleaders. I'm slowly learning to overcome my walls when I hit them and it's not easy but I think its worth it. If things didn't challenge us in life they wouldn't change us.
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