I have a very type A personality. I am a perfectionist and I strive to be number one. This pushes me in times when I need to be pushed, but can also be a hinder my performance.
When I was about 10 years old I wanted to join soccer. My best friend was playing and I wanted to join to. I had it in my head "anything she could do I could do better" well to be honest I sucked. I don't have the hand eye coordination to play sports where items fly at me. The problem is because I couldn't get it right the first time I gave up. I believe I went to three games and said to my parents "I suck I am done". They let me quit without argument mainly because I was already swimming and had a tight schedule for a 10 year old.
When I swam and couldn't master the breaststroke my first time I wanted to quit. My coach wouldn't let me. The same way he wouldn't let me quit when I was doing sprint sets. I remember yelling at him. Yes, I would yell at my coach. One day I was so mad and so angry he made me spend 2 hours after practice doing the breaststroke. I was never a breaststroker but he never let me give up.
It was around that year that things changed for me. I wasn't so quick to jump to quitting when things were not going they way I had planned for them too.
Recently, in my training for the Nike Women's Marathon I have had a few minor set backs. They set backs have been effecting me. I believe it is effecting me more mentally than physically. It is like a wall was up in my head and I wasn't able to crush through it.
Yesterday I went for a run and it seemed that somehow these walls that I had build came tumbling down. I was now running at my faster pace. I was feeling good and my body felt like it could take on the world.
I had to make a few changes in regards to my training.
First off, I need to get more sleep. If you know me well you are probably laughing because I LOVE sleep and I have a masters degree in it. Seriously, I got to bed at around 9 and get up at 5 and I'll nap Saturday and Sunday if I could. I realized that I needed MORE sleep. The thing about training for a marathon is it takes a toll on your body. If you think you are getting enough sleep get an extra half hour a night. It made a world of difference for me.
Secondly, I added more protein to my meals. I meet with someone who tells me what I need. I was already getting around 110 grams of protein each day. Guess what, that wasn't enough. Now I have a protein shake in the morning and one at night. This has helped me greatly in getting enough calories for my body to function. I am no longer concerned with loseing weight anymore as I am with making sure I have enough calories to properly do my training and keeping my body strong. I prefer to get most of my calories through protein and vegtables but I still eat pleanty of carbs.
Lastly, I remind myself why I am doing this. I love running. It's that simple.
Happy Training
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