In case you haven’t noticed, I love working out.
Who smiles during planks? This girl, because I enjoy doing forearm planks.
I’m a strong believer in doing what makes you happy when it comes to working out. I used to hate spin… so I didn’t force myself to spin. I immediately fell in love with Zumba when I took my first class and from then on I planned my social life around the “good” zumba classes. I aim to have variety in my workout week – a good combo of strength training, cardio and barre — but ultimately I try to stick with what I love. Why make working out a chore when it doesn’t have to be?
Recently though I haven’t been listening to my own “do workouts you love” advice. Before each of my runs this week I thought “UGHHH I have to run today”. Despite a Katy Perry, musical theater and Green Day filled playlist each run has been a struggle-fest.
Yesterday I gave myself a very necessary pep talk beforehand about how I would not let me negative “WHY ARE YOU SO SLOW KAYLA” thoughts take over. This pep talk worked… but it still didn’t make the run enjoyable. My body was not feelin’ it. Sometimes I enjoy running- it’s very freeing and great for thinking. But at this exact moment in my life I don’t love it. I still struggle with the fact that it’s a very lonely sport when I already spend a lot of time alone, and after a long day of working on my feet the last thing I want to do is hit the pavement and run.
(I’m probably smiling because I’m so happy it’s over)
There’s good running days and bad running days for anyone in training, but the way I’ve been dreading runs and struggling during runs seems to be a bit more than that. Running is not a workout I love the way I love zumba or a butt kicking bootcamp. And perhaps I’ll never love it.
I haven’t officially given up on running the Diva Half Marathon in October but I’m in the process of reevaluating if it’s worth it. Is it worth suffering through 3 runs a week just so I can say I ran a half marathon? Is it worth choosing running versus other modes of cardio which I love? Part of me is saying “Man up, Kayla, it’s just a little over a month til it’s all over” but the other part of me is saying “Can’t we go to spin class instead?” I keep bouncing back and forth between being done with running and sucking it up. I honestly can’t tell you if this half marathon is still happening but until then I will continue to train and push on through
What’s your favorite fitness tip?
How do you keep yourself motivated to accomplish fitness goals?
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