Those of you out there in internet land that know me pretty well, know that I have always been an athletic girl. I had been involved with sports for the majority of my life and had always had a very structured workout schedule. Well, times change and change can be hard!
Since I graduated college in 2008 and got away from the grueling collegiate workout plan of a track & field athlete, I've found myself getting soft, gaining a little weight and becoming winded going up a flight of stairs. I had the excuse of, "I just had a baby" for awhile but now that my baby is 3 years old, that excuse hardly applies anymore. Darn it!
I've been struggling with keeping motivation to continue on a workout plan. The thrill of competitions were what drove me to work so hard for so many years but now that part of my life has past and I find it so hard to keep working out. I have personal goals of how I want to feel and how I want to look but that only goes so far. It is incredibly easy to blow off going to the gym or going outside for a run and say, "I'll do it tomorrow." I finally got sick of saying that to myself and decided I needed to get back into working out and find something to help keep me on the right track. It is very easy to listen to that voice inside of your head telling you to stop, to walk, to quit, to eat that candy bar, to drink a beer or two, to do ANYTHING BUT EXERCISE! I've had many conversations with that voice over the past 6 months and I think I'm finally starting to win.
I have to give my sister, Shannon a big thanks for going out on many runs with me over the past month and keeping me motivated! It is a lot easier to go with someone than to make yourself go alone. It was hard in the beginning to get started because I knew that I would be super sore and would hardly be able to walk or even sit down on the toilet to go tinkle! Once I got over the initial soreness I started to feel the boredom set in. That is when I started switching up my workouts and running trails. A change of scenery was just the thing I needed.
For me, the biggest incentive to workout has been starting to compete in road races again. It has been many years since I last seriously competed in 2 mile & 5K races. I am back to a place in my life where I'm not on a HS or college team and have the liberty of focusing solely on road races. Although I've only just begun on this new health/wellness plan for myself, I am excited to keep it going. I feel tons better now that I'm making healthier choices in my life. I'm feeling stronger & more confident. I am excited to put on a two piece bikini in another month or two. I am working on getting that body I once had back! I have been hard on myself but that is exactly what I need to keep at it. I don't need a coach to kick my ass anymore, I'm doing that myself these days!
Thanks to all of you that have given support & encouragement, thanks to my sister for working out with me and thanks to my husband for watching the little one while I go out & put my time in on the trails.
peace & love
bj
Blistered big toes = doing work!
These are mama arms from toting around a toddler but overall my body is getting trim...will have ab pics to share in due time! P.S. don't you love all the train tracks in my living room? Hahaha, being a mother of a boy is awesome!
Seriously...I can NOT take a composed picture of myself. I continually feel the need to make faces, damn it. At least I can laugh at myself while ohers are laughing at me too.
No comments:
Post a Comment