I bailed on my triathlon this past Sunday. For one, I didn't go to bed until nearly 1am, having set my alarm for 5am. I stayed up to watch the UFC fights. Jon Jones is really the only fighter I would stay up that late for when I had something else going on the next day. He is from my husband's hometown, and he's just a nice guy. I was happy to see him win in what was probably the most brutal fight I've ever seen. Both fighters beat the shit out of one another, he just did slightly more I guess, because the judges ruled in Jones' favor. I was glad I watched it, as it was easily the best UFC fight of the year. My husband has totally gotten me hooked on UFC after watching a couple seasons of The Ultimate Fighter with him.
Anyway, so I never really "slept"- like the good, hard kind of sleep you need before a triathlon. I think I didn't sleep well because my throat was hurting, so I subsequently stressed all night about that. I woke up hot as hell, throat throbbing, head pounding, and just feeling generally awful. So, I decided not to go. Call it nerves. Call it lack of sleep. Call it being unprepared and irresponsible. Maybe mixed in there a little bit was a set of nerves. The final deciding factor was that I didn't actually pay for this race entry. I earned it by volunteering at packet pickup for the last race. So, since I wasn't out $75, I just decided to stay home and sleep in.
Of course I instantly regretted it. It felt like that guilty feeling you have when you skip school that almost makes it not even worth it. In hindsight, I could have done it. I should have done it. And then practically everyone I trained with had a PR, so I may have had one too. Crap.
Oh well, time to move on. I worked out hard on Monday, which was may day off. Probably a little of it was punishment for skipping the triathlon. I did an intense bout of weights/strength training from which I am REALLY sore from here two days out, plus 45 minutes of running on the treadmill, from which my hip flexor is still mad at me for. A little side note: why the EFF is my gym so freaking crowded at 10am on a Monday morning?!? Does no one work? The last time I went on a Monday morning, it was Labor Day, and I just thought everyone else had the same idea as me. This past Monday, I felt like I was in a sea of stay at home moms who have the luxury of going to a class, loitering in the weights area, then dining al fresco with a little Smoothie King action on the outdoor patio. Seriously, who are these people? I saw like 15 women in little cliques in the parking lot just talking, talking, talking, with seemingly nowhere to go and nothing to do. Must. Be. Nice.
I am incredibly lucky to have the work schedule that I have. I work four days a week from 7-5, from home, and then I get one day off. The day is usually a Friday or a Monday, and when I'm lucky, they are back-to-back for a nice 4-day weekend, but either way, it's really freaking nice. I started this schedule maybe a year ago, and I have been pretty awful about spending my entire day off shopping and wasting lots of cash. Especially if my day off is on a Friday. Anyway, in recent weeks I've been more focused on spending lots of time in the gym instead, and it makes me feel a lot better. Plus, my wallet loves me more. It's nice to be one of "those" women, even if it is just for one day a week.
In scale-related news, I was down two pounds this past weekend, which means I'm now 7 pounds away from my wedding day weight. That will be a good feeling when I get there.
I do think its okay to bail on the tri- don't be too hard on yourself. Sometimes it happens. sometimes, no matter what, all the factors don't line up and we just can't, and that is OKAY. I also understand the need to slightly punish yourself with extra gym time afterwards. I'd do the same thing. But try and not look at it like a punishment. Exercise is the reward :) (cough cough, yeah right :)
ReplyDeleteI have no idea who these clique's of women are who leisurely spend their days at the gym roaming from machine to machine. I know who you are talking about, I see them. I want to be one of them but haven't figured out how that is even remotely possible. Wait, I know who they are. My boss's wife is one of them. She is the nicest woman in the world but she has never worked in her adult life. She is my age, has kids and yes, spends some, not all, but some mornings with a bunch of similar stay at home moms hanging at the gym "pretending" to care about health and fitness. I say pretending because it really is more of a social thing then actually working out. It's annoying. I would think that the gym should be more dead on a Monday at 10AM for sure. Weird. I am certain that probably has a lot to do with the gym itself. There is a chain of gyms in my town that are exactly where all these women go for that kind of stuff. My gym is much to small and would definitely be empty, as I often see it empty. I love that about my gym. Probably why I clicked there so well.
And now, congratulations on the scale related news. I am certain it feels amazing to be within 7 pounds of the wedding day weight. That is awesome. But this time you are going to get there and keep on blowing thru it... some day we will make that wedding dress too big :) so proud of you. You are definitely going in the right direction and your attitude is great right now.
Free time at the gym is much more productive than shopping, which I have an awful tendancy to do myself as well. God I am a shopping addict :) Oh, and I totally have seen UFC and it is pretty fun actually. I could see why you would want to watch it. No worries :)