Thursday Thoughts

Hello Friends,

Well it's been a bit of a slow and energy lacking Thursday. The alarm sounded off this morning and it felt brutal. I got just under 7 hours of sleep so it clearly wasn't a sleep deprivation type of issue it was just an "I'm tired" feeling. I did manage to suck it up and get myself to the gym however and turned in a decent workout. 40 minutes on the treadmill doing jogging/walking intervals followed by some stretching and the showers.

As I was on the treadmill though I got to thinking about exercise and how things were going with my routine and these two older women one on either side of me were for lack of a better term, kicking my ass on the treadmill. Watching them tear it up on the treadmill actually affected me in a negative way. I started thinking about how fast I was running in comparison and how slow I was going when looking at them and it made me embarrassed as they were probably twice my age. And then my mind got the better of me and it started whispering all those negative thoughts in my ear saying how I couldn't be a runner and I'll never get better and who was I fooling, I'll never get to my goal.

The good news out of this was in spite of all the negative thoughts going through my head I managed to keep it together and finish a decent workout. Not as stellar as the day before but dealing with being tired and the Miss Pessimistic attitude I apparently had...I'll take it. 

Then I got on the bus and rode the usual commute to work a little frustrated with the way things were going lately and how I wasn't loosing any weight lately and dreading my weigh-in tomorrow and when I got to work I stumbled across this quote on the web. 

It's not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.
– Anon

What I love about this is how true it is. It just simply says it's not about who you are or how fit you are or how old you are that keeps you from achieving you goals, mine for example of getting better at jogging/running. It's by telling yourself that you "are" a runner or "will be" a runner that helps you achieve it. By telling yourself that you can....you will. On the treadmill by thinking about how "I'll never be a runner" that was the moment I stopped running. It wasn't my legs, arms, back, or any other part of my body that stopped working but my mind. After Mt. Washington I know I need to work on my mental toughness and after today's workout I know I need to keep this quote in mind. 

Then of course I found one more that basically sums up my morning.

 Running is a big question mark that’s there each and every day. It asks you, "Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?"
– Peter Maher, Canadian marathon runner

This is exactly how it went for me today. I kept thinking...."come on Dana you nailed it yesterday....what is going on today" I do think this is true with working out in general. Some days the battle isn't the workout but getting over the hurtles that keep us from a good workout.

Anyway I thought you all might like these. It's back to the gym tomorrow for a long workout for me First cardio and then I'm going to tackle an early risers Pilates class. I haven't done Pilates in over a year so I'm hoping I don't embarrass myself. I'm planning on taking a spot in the back and trying to look like I belong there. Wish me luck!