Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Discouraged

Last night I was a little disappointed in my CrossFit performance. Our workout was not too difficult, and it was an AMRAP, which allows me to not worry about beating everyone else.



This was the perfect opportunity for me to use heavier dumbbells, kettlebell and to practice double unders. After attempting several double unders before the workout began, I pretty much just gave up and decided to do singles. I started out using 20lb dumbbells and a purple kettlebell. After 2 rounds through, my shoulders were on fire and I traded out my 20lb dumbbells for 15lbs. The workout seemed rather lazy on my part and I wasn't going particularly fast. I finished exhausted, but discouraged because I know I could've pushed harder.

After the workout, my coach and I were talking and he told me I definitely should've kept the 20lb dumbbells and set them down to rest when I needed. In the back of my mind, I knew I should've done this, but, honestly, it really didn't even cross my mind to set down the weights and rest during the workout.

In CrossFit, at least at my box, a lot of our workouts are timed or we count reps. With my new-found competitive nature, I am always pushing to get through as many reps and to go as fast as I can. I think I've realized its also important in training to step back and go up in weight or use a lighter band for pull-ups. Its okay to be a little slower than yesterday because without trying something new and challenging my muscles, I'm not going to go anywhere and I am defeating the purpose of CrossFit!

This morning I set out for a 7 mile tempo run. I was hoping to hit 3 miles in the middle holding 7:45s. My first mile felt fine, it was lovely running weather and the sun was peeking through a light cloud layer. After that mile, though, I started feeling tired and my legs felt lead-like. Boo. At that point I hate to admit, but I sort of gave up. I wasn't even through the warmup and I'd already decided not to push the pace for the middle miles!

As usual, I let my mind wander away while running and despite feeling tired, the miles went by fairly quickly despite my less than stellar mood.

Around mile 5 I was running by the marina, along the beach. The tide was out so I looked down to the shore and saw a beautiful, bright red starfish. I looked out over the water to the mountains and realized how insignificant my bad mood is.


Why waste this day not working as hard as possible? And why was I getting down on myself simply because I wasn't hitting a pace I'd set for myself. Who cares? I'm running because I love to run. There are so many who are not as lucky. I immediately got a spring back in my step and started hitting my goal pace with little effort.


In addition, I also started smiling at other runners and walkers I was passing and said "good morning!" to each one. By the time I got back to my apartment, I was my usual happy self, and was surprised to find my final miles surpassed my expectations! 

Moral of my story: Stop getting discouraged and down on yourself because things are so much better when you just enjoy life!

After all, this chick is visiting me this weekend and I can't wait to get into Seattle shenanigans with her!



No comments:

Post a Comment