Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Making it Fun

A couple weeks ago I made a commitment to myself to do the things that make me happy instead of depending on others to make me happy. While I do think that others can contribute quite a bit to a person's happiness, I think it is really important to be able to be happy when that person is no longer around. I haven't made any big life changes but I have been making small changes to focus on myself a little more.


How does this apply to training (since this is a running/triathlon blog, after all)? I'm still working on it. My coach sends me my workouts for the week every Friday and I do my best to stick to that schedule. Sometimes I have to rearrange workouts because I have other things going on and sometimes I move workouts simply because I do not want to do that workout when the time rolls around. If I am in absolutely no mood to swim but want to go for a run instead, I will check my schedule for the rest of the week to make sure that I'll be able to do the swim on a different day, and if I can then I'll run instead.


I train for endurance events because I like it. Sure there are times when I don't want to get out of bed on a Saturday for a long run but in the end achieving my goal and putting in the work is enough to make me keep training for these races. I am not a paid athlete and have no real obligations to train for anything. Nobody else is making me do these races or the training that comes with them.


With that being said I think it is absolutely necessary to make sure you are enjoying your training. Not all workouts are going to be enjoyable but do whatever you can (within reason) to make that workout fun. Yesterday I had a 3200 yard swim on the schedule and the only pool I had access to is heated to 86 degrees. Not ideal for lap swimming to say the least. By the end of the workout I just wanted to be done. I debated skipping the last 600 yards but instead did some drills and butterfly. When I reached 3200 yards I didn't want to get out because I was enjoying myself too much.


I'm not really sure where I'm going with this post but let this be a reminder to find ways to make working out or training fun. It's easy to get stuck in a rut, both in life and training, and finding new ways to spice things up will surely make a difference.

4 comments :

  1. IT's so important to keep it fun. I also think that's an awesome commitment! Can't wait to see how things go for you :)

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  2. 86?! That's a nasty swim! I definitely have started to recognize that I enjoy just working out more than training for something, which is why I am glad that, for now, I have put my goals of a 1/2 IM on hold and am sticking to sprints. And even for those, I am just going to continue what I'm doing normally and just have fun with it!

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  3. Im so glad you are doing things for you, it will do WONDERS for training and your general well being! Nice work Lady!

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