I am a couch potato. Unmotivated, uninspired...lazy. There are far too many other things I need to get done, but right now, I'm happy with my sofa and TV...and a Family Size bag of Ruffles.
Seriously.
For any of you who read my last post, you may be laughing your head off and saying, "Yeah, right! How does a couch potato finish a 3-race series, lasting over 100 miles?!?! Lazy? I don't think so." Others of you who know me very well also would be laughing your head off and saying, "Yes. Yes you are that thing...couch potato." Either way, you are laughing your head off.
Until I discovered triathlon racing, tried my best to stay "fit." I spent up to an hour almost every day doing a cardio/weight video combination. After several weeks of this, I'd get bored and take a day off...which turned into 2 weeks. So I'd start all over again. Although one could say I was healthy, I would not have called myself trim. I could perform the exercises in the videos extremely well. But that's all my fitness was good for. Rock climbing? Lousy. Hiking? Slow. Skiing...well, I actually got pretty good, but that's beside the point. I was a terrible runner, and the bike was merely a method of transportation.
Frankly, I don't know when my "Eureka" moment came, but I found that I am highly motivated by goals. If I have something for which to train, I will stay on task and not quit out of boredom. I'm not talking about slimming down for swimsuit season or a wedding. Rather a real, honest-to-goodness race. Regardless of distance or discipline, if there is a finish line involved, hand me a training plan and I will follow it to the letter (at least 85% of the time).
"But Heather, didn't you just sign up for 140.6? Don't you have a goal in place?" Well yes, but if I start training now, I can guarantee burnout by Christmas...possibly even by Halloween. No, I need an off season. Which is right now. This is a happy place, filled with basking in the glow of my recent finish, knowing I don't have to schedule in a workout, and discovering Nutella. I could bring my goggles to the pool, but why? Strap my shoes on for a quick jog, but I'd rather sleep in.
Right now, I'm at the tail end of a safe recovery period. I've run 30 minutes and done 30 minutes of core training since Boulder 70.3. I'm relatively pain-free, and I have regained a bit of energy. I've devolved into a slug...a slug who knows if she doesn't get off the couch soon, she will start losing 20 weeks worth of hard work. I am in a lull. Ironman Boulder is 50 weeks away (yes, I've already started counting), but I'm also looking for an intermediate goal...perhaps a full marathon.
Something's gotta happen soon. The lack of impending goal is messing with me. I am itching for a new plan. I have completely reorganized my entire house. I need a race by Christmas, or I will lose my mind.
I miss the runner's high, the burning sensation in my quads after I climb a hill, and the inability to lift my arms after a 3000 meter swim. Ab-busting core workouts leave me incapable of laughing without crying...hahaha ow haha ow. I'd complain about how much some training session stunk only to notice my clothes are looser.
Without a finish line, I am directionless in my fitness...adrift in a sea of possibilities, overwhelmed by options...so I think I'll park my hinder in a lawn chair. When I have a goal, I feel there is purpose in getting out of bed. Or at least purpose in passing the ice cream aisle at the grocery store without stopping.
I will have an off season training plan in place in the next few days, but for now, I'll rest, recover and look forward to the next finish line.
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