I used to be....

[Aggie_Ama]

I used to tell everyone I was a runner who cycled. Then I was a cyclist who cross trained by running. Lately, I am an overweight version of the woman I used to be. In August in retreated to the luxury of air conditioning. In September I patiently waited for my DH to recover from a hospital stay and used it as an excuse to do nothing. Now it is October, I can barely fit my clothes and I have had enough.

Tonight I will go on my first run in over a week. The past few weeks I have ran about once a week. How do we let ourselves fall in these ruts? Tonight I will start easy with a 20 minute run. I am breaking out- wish me luck!!

[roshelleuop]

Aggia Ama,

It only takes one 30 minute run or one 30 minute bike to get back into it. You are planning to run 30 minutes tonight, that is the first step!!! That is awesome!!!! Way to go!!!!

Just remember to not push it too hard too fast, becuase you may not be able to enjoy it. Slowly get into it and you'll be back to your old self in no time!!!!!

Roshelle from Milwaukee

[chickwhorips]

all that matters is your getting back out there. you can't change the past, only work on the future. if i could change the past i would take back a lot of the cr@p i've eaten in the past month and with working on feild work i haven't been working out as much. i'm feeling very blah! i'm trying to get back on the wagon with you. i support you 100%!

[cherinyc]

Right there with you and supporting you. Ruts are yucky!!!! and I think there is some kind of depression that sets in (maybe withdrawel from the working out endorphins) when you take too much time off.
Just do a little, and when those endorphins kick in again you will be back on track.
HUGS!!

[Lise]

I'm well familiar with the rut! But you've already taken action to get out of it, so you're well on your way. I find it helps to lay out my running clothes the night before and tell myself that I'm going to put them on the minute I get up. If I do that, I'm much more likely to go out the door than to talk myself out it again. Good luck, keep us posted. I, too, will be doing a lot more running than riding as the weather gets cold, so I'll need my own reminders!

[Aggie_Ama]

See I knew I would find the support here! And I knew if I put it on TE I would feel like I had to do it. Off to start being me again.

[rocknrollgirl]

You still are a runner girl and a biker chick....you always will be. You just have to let her out again.

[Tri Girl]

I know what you mean! It's been months since I dragged my butt outta bed for pre-work workouts. See, now you've inspired me to just go do it in the morning.
You can do this, Amanda. Like Cheri said, once those endorphins kick in, you'll be back on the wagon in no time! We'll be here to either kick your butt, or support you when you need a tender ear to listen. We're good for both!
Now- get out there and run your little legs off!!!

[Aggie_Ama]

You still are a runner girl and a biker chick....you always will be. You just have to let her out again.

Thank you!!

Day 1- Finding the Old Ama

I went down to my favorite running path today. It was still pretty hot, muggy and my allergies are pretty bad right now but I refused to let this sideline my run. I started out and really felt pretty awful from wearing heels today. Most of the run I felt like a newbie (note to self- drink more water) but I kept on pushing. I made it 21 minutes before I had to walk. I walked for about one minute and then pushed along. I ended up having to walk to more times before I made it to end of the trail.

Overall I ran 34 minutes with about 3 minutes of that walking. I feel very good about my efforts and remember why I enjoy running. I have really missed it.

Tomorrow I will pull my bike out and hit the road for about 19 miles after work. I will not let myself sit on my butt!

I might need some gentle TE pushing, my DH and I always do a hilly 5 mile "Turkey Trot" on Thanksgiving morning. After today I know I am not anywhere near where I want to be.

[Tri Girl]

Great job Amanda!!!!

[chickwhorips]

good job! you got out there, so what if you had to walk more than run, you did it!

tomorrow when you pull the bike out you'll remember how much you love it too.

way to go!!!! go amanda, its your birthday, go amanda.

[deidre]

I run and bike as well (or I used to). Not a very fast runner or biker. About a month or so ago, my knees starting hurting on the uphill portion of my run. I stopped to walk and then tried to run again. And the knees started to hurt once again.

I decided to take some time off from running to give my knees a break. And guess what happened? I just took some time off of everything. Didn't walk, didn't bike, and didn’t go the gym for spin class or weight training. In the last 4 - 6 weeks, I would be lucky if I have run/biked/exercised/anything 4 - 6 times. Okay, maybe not that bad but pretty close.

I tried running last week on the treadmill and had to stop after 1/2 a mile. I successfully ran 3 10Ks in the last 8 or 9 months so I know that I can build back up to my 6.5 mile runs slowly.

Tomorrow is a new day and I'll start it with some type of physical activity.

[emily_in_nc]

Excellent! Sounds like you're already on the road to coming back strong!

You can come back from "ruts". I had a BIG one when my dad died in a car accident last October. Didn't do much of any exercise besides walking the dog for months afterwards. Just sat on the computer and wrote and wrote, and curled up in bed and read and read. Cried a lot too.

Slowly but surely, over the course of the late winter, spring and summer, I started hiking and weight-lifting, then mountain biking, then trail running, road riding again, and even got in a few paddles (kayak) recently. I feel stronger than ever and am enjoying all the activities even more.

You'll do it too.

Emily

[CyclChyk]

Go get 'em Aggie! And stop being so hard on yourself. Life Happens! You are smart enough to acknowledge the negative and counter it with a positive!

You'll be back to par before you know it!

[rocknrollgirl]

The Turkey Trot is still 6 weeks away...you can do it....putting a race on the schedule always keeps me on the straight and narrow.

Hope you had a good ride today.