Motivation and the like..

I was having a bit of a blah day today. After my really good weekend and my excellent run on Sunday I was just feeling a little flat (back to reality blues shall we say). I took the dogs for a walk in the morning and then I planned on going to do hill runs or a circuit class tonight but really had little motivation to do so. Instead I spent the afternoon watching TV and avoiding studying like the plague! While I was sitting all comfy like on the lounge I was reading Dean K's book and it mentioned motivation. Basically he was talking about how some days he doesn;t want to do a long run, or it seems impossible to overcome fatigue and get out there but he reminds himself about that feeling that you get afterwards - its that pure rush of endorphins and the happiness at acomplishing something and pushing your body like that. So, instead of remaining where I was I grabbed a protein shake and decided to jog out a new route.

It was quite a nice run, lots of shade and well kept paths. I kept my pace even (I have a tendency at the moment to go hard at the begining in the hope to increase my overall time but it doesn't work like that because basically you end up getting fatigued and having to slow right down at the end which drags your time back down) and I jogged out how I was feeling. While I was out there I thought of the different changes you experience in just one jog. In the first 500m's I get breathless, I get the lung burning sensation while I try and adjust my breathing - essentially I am looking for four counts in and then four counts out. Some people say in through your nose, out through your mouth but I am more of a mouth breather when I run. Once I settle into a breathing routine I feel better and then around 3kms I start to get a bit more fatigued, my legs get that heavy feeling and I start to make a more concentrated effort to run. I start to think about what my body is doing here because when you start to fatigue, you start to lose your form and are more likely to injure yourself. At around 4.5kms my legs feel like lead, I start to really concentrate on lifting my feet, I am using feeling the burn by now usually in my shins and piraformus which is still giving me trouble. When I stop I get the weirdest sensation, it feels like my legs go limp for a minute and in this time its important to keep walking around to give them a chance to bounce back.

I am glad I went out and having a jog around. Because of the on and off discomfort I have been getting, especially my shins, piraformus and my left ankle I went and jumped into a cold bath (absolutely awesome on a cold evening - NOT) and sat in there for about 10 minutes, then i went and had a hot shower and rubbed deep heat onto all the parts I use when I run, but especially the sore bits. I am feeling pretty good now. Oh I also have a few cups of water, make sure dinner is eaten within the hour (or at least some sort of snack with some protein and carbs) and then take my magnesium which helps with muscle repair.

Now, I am off to lie in bed and read my book. I am sleeeeeeepy!!!
Take Care,
Megs x