Oh my! Easter! BUT Management took a bit of a hit, needless to say. I really did wimp out and fall for every trick in the book, but I’m BACK and I’ve taken steps in the right direction and those BUTs have been locked firmly into a cupboard (although at least one seems to squeeze out through the keyhole on a daily basis – oops).
Two major changes since my last post have led to a much more positive-looking few months ahead. From mid-2017 up until January of this year my headspace was in an extremely undesirable state. Much as I was trying to fight my personal battles and keep cheery for friends and family as much as possible, low mood was affecting everything to the extent that I finally had to seek out the help of my GP. Nothing huge but that prescription has been pretty life-changing within my own little bubble and has allowed me to stop stressing over all the stuff I couldn’t control and focus on stuff within my control. That’s a win for me.
Change No. 2 followed nicely from my headspace change. A lot of my difficulty in getting off my backside to do any training came with the captions ‘BUT I’m tired’, ‘BUT I’m depressed’, ‘BUT I’ve no goal so it doesn’t matter.’ My new perspective on things accompanied the realisation that perhaps not having any sporting goal wasn’t going to be as relaxing or stress-free as I’d thought. I need those goals. I need that pressure to get out and do ‘sporty’ work … run, swim and, dare I say, bike. I suppose part of the battle is discovering the kind of stresses you can do without and the kind of stresses that are ‘needed’ – like the motivation to get out the door and run. The stress ‘release’ follows. And thankfully, that’s been something that’s been easy to fix. Cue ‘Hit the Registration button’ and my ‘BUT I haven’t got a goal’ is no longer. I’ve compromised, though. I’ve entered a couple of triathlons late in the season and they’re both short (sprint and standard). Goals are in place … BUT 5 months is a bit long to train for a sprint tri (at my level, anyhow – I’m not going to be ‘shaving off seconds’ lol) so I’ve sorted out my training and safe to say I am now getting off my backside. I’ve been working pretty hard, I’ve battled a few ‘BUT-I’m-tired’ excuses and got the job done and injuries are staying away *touch wood*. My plan is this: I’m currently following a 70.3 training plan. This is enough to keep me working hard, keep my endurance, keep me out long enough to clear my headspace each time and I’m working on some speed stuff, too. Best of all, there is no STRESS with the training, I’m already seeing improvements in my fitness and it’s challenging enough to keep me motivated. Another win! Eight weeks or so before my races I’ll switch to a more race-specific plan and take it from there. Meanwhile, the build-up from injury both inside and out has been positive, interesting and feels great.
All in all, I think the last couple of months have really challenged my BUT management … but for now, I’m winning.
Sample of BUTs I’ll be working on: