I want honesty from the blogs I read. I also want to be honest myself.
Some blogs can seem like they’re all about product launch parties, free gear and trips abroad. But what I want to really know is – are they in the trenches grinding it out and that the perfect Instagram posts are….well, not all that perfect and really they‘re just like me.
I have a tendency to give out a lot of advice and tips on this site. That’s why I started the blog. I’ve picked up lots of bits and bobs from my successes and failures over the years and wanted to share them. Sometimes it feels like I don’t hold my end of the bargain up. I wrote a post about consistency a couple of weeks ago and why it is the be all and end all of training and gains. Since then I’ve neither run, worked out or cycled to work for coming up on 3 weeks.
A month or so ago, I was in a good shape. I’d come off a number of PBs; I was training regularly, maintaining a good base for the winter. Back to BMF proper (not running club) and my core and overall strength were improving for a good crack at whatever I decided to do in the spring. I was feeling pretty good.
Once you get your fitness back you say –
“I’ll never let my fitness go again”
You know the hard work it took to get there, and you’re not going through that shit again!
Then a couple of events and that’s all it takes to miss 3 weeks. From feeling light and springy, now my trousers feel tight, the flattish stomach is now a little rounder; I have a morbid curiosity to jump on the scales to see the damage. There’s a general malaise hanging over me through food and drink.
“The urge to go running and training gets weaker and weaker for every session I miss”
So how the hell did this happen?
- Christmas parties/lunches/dinners
- A chest infection
- A couple of hangovers
- Shopping trips
- Christmas gift pickups
- A duo of music gigs
Not exactly a unique list. Pretty much a list than every other soul also has. There are no excuses, though. I’ve had a fair number of things on in the last few weeks, but I can’t use a busy and boozy run up to Christmas as an excuse in the upcoming March or April races.
All I can really do it is get back on the horse, I have a few days before Christmas to get some runs in. I can take a bit of my own advice (who the hell does that) and not eat like it’s my last meal for a month (every day). There are a couple of parkruns to do over the Christmas break that could be a good yardstick and show me if I need to get my arse in gear.
I hope I’m worrying about nothing and once the cobwebs are blown away I’ll be back on it. January is around the corner, and whatever you think about New Year’s resolutions (when they work or not and January 1st is just an arbitrary date) it’s definitely a time to consider things, add a bit of resolve and kick on.