Little and Often

Your comments about "Why do you race?" were awesome! They made me feel like I'm on the right track. Thanks a lot.

It just got me thinking....I'm going through one of the most stressful times of my life right now and trying to maintain balance. What keeps you going when life gets hectic? Especially since the holidays are coming up, I thought this might be an important issue to ponder over.

I am definitely an all or nothing person. If I can't do it right, why do it at all? It's hard for me to do a little bit each day to sustain myself over a long period of time. However, I've learned that I get burnt out if I try to do everything all the time.

My motto is: little and often. If I can do a little bit each day, I will slowly progress and the pieces will fall into place eventually. Right now, I'm focusing on doing something active each day. Even if my training plan isn't perfect, and I run too much, that's okay. Even if I only swim for 30 minutes or do Yoga on a day where I'm exhausted. It's okay. Just do something. And don't make a huge deal out of it.

Sometimes, I get so hung up on perfection, it saps the fun right out of it, and I forget why I love to "tri" in the first place. I focus so much on my heart rate, my tempo, my form, my RPMs, whatever, that I forget to be in the moment. Now is a great time to leave the heart rate monitor at home, take the cyclocomputer off the bike, and just get out there and ride, or run, or swim, without making such a big deal out of it.

The task for myself this week? To just be. Get in the moment and relish each workout. I'm so fortunate to have a healthy, fit body that can carry me through all the challenges I ask it do. And that's awesome. I'm so lucky to live in an area where I can run and ride outside, and it's gorgeous.