What kinds of things should I eat?
For these workouts how do I pace myself?
I ask all of these things in response to today's Forwards workout. For me, it was really tough and I did a sloppy job. My past workouts were not as intense as this and in the past, I was doing things I knew that I can do. Run two miles? Sure ! Do sets of core workouts? Got that! However, doing the workouts other people expect me to do is a different story. I don't know what was up with me today, but there were times were I knew I needed to do another 30m or run for 10sec more, but my body said no more. It was like hitting a wall. I did stop. I got frustrated with myself because I wanted to do all the workouts written on the piece of paper in my pocket. I got tired of all of these different elements opposing me like my body, the weather, my hunger, my stamina. Above all, what gave me the most difficulty was getting over the little mental blocks in my head.
I finished all of the workouts best I could with all of its crappiness, but I'm still proud of myself for completing it. This is a start. I've never worked out this hard before on my own. When I go out for a jog. I've always asked for a little. As I jog, I tell myself okay, make it to the next tree, you got it, okay next tree, mailbox. These are small steps for me. These workouts force me to ask myself for a lot. When I did the frog jumps, just making it to the next crack on the sidewalk was a lot. It's no longer asking myself for a few small steps, now it's me exerting my entire body to get it off the ground and catch myself. This is a new experience for me and quite a few times I put myself in not-so-nice-places, but I want to try again tomorrow. I want to push myself and I know its going to take time before I can get the endurance needed. If possible I want to enjoy these workouts. I hope I'm not by myself, but if anyone else is going through what I'm going through I urge you to keep going. As much as this is a physical exercise this is also a mental exercise. Plus if there is ever a zombie apocalypse, at least you'll be confident in your physical abilities.
With much lub-a-dub,
Elisha
Hey Elisha!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you know, some days are tough. Everyone's got off days, and sometimes you just gotta get through it, so congrats of finishing your workout!
To address your questions:
• Before and After: Stretch! Hydrate! Eat! (but don't eat too soon before or you'll feel like you're gonna vom). It's winter up there, so it can be hard to remember to drink enough, but chug as much water as possible. Ice your achy body parts if necessary.
• In terms of food, Byds sent us some helpful food guidelines. I'll see if I (or anyone else) can send it out again.
• Mentally, it can be tough. I'm corny, so I literally Chant Everything! in my head. "Never stop!" "Finish it!""Keep Going!"
It's been especially difficult because I don't know what the limits of my knee are now, but at the beginning of this semester I was really starting to understand that you don't know what your limit is until you hit it...and then you keep pushing.
You got this. Like I said, everyone has off days. Don't let it get you down. Just get up and go tomorrow. :D
Elisha...you are a rockstar! I think Chahney hit the nail square on the head - these are tough and you have to stay positive with yourself.
ReplyDeleteA few things to add:
1. The Jan 4 workout is one of the hardest we have, especially the running part. I just blogged about my experience with that running workout, and like I said in the post, by the end I was definitely trudging along, surely not looking like the bold, beautiful beast I'm expected to be. We all have our good days and bad days, and some workouts are way more difficult than others, so don't let one day get you down!
2. It takes quite a while for your body to get in "rugby shape." I struggled with rugby workouts literally for my first two years on the team. Just like you said, I was used to going for nice jogs, doing a few ab workouts and lifting now and again, but the rugby workouts were a whole new level of intensity. Every week it will get easier, just keep pushing!
3. Before and after workouts, stretch and hydrate. Don't ignore the importance of going through our dynamic stretches (water bird, quad stretch, yogi, butt kicks, high knees, tin soldier, etc, etc) before the workout...especially in the cold winter, I know it makes a huge difference for how your muscles cooperate. After workouts, EAT EAT EAT! Protein in the first 30 minutes after your workout is super important.
4. You are absolutely not alone. There are days that I think, "If I do one more 100 meter sprint, I will surely collapse here in this field. And nobody even knows where this random field is. And they won't even know I'm dead until the smell drifts out to the main road." But then I think about how badly I want to win Nationals, how I don't want to let my teammates down when I know they're all working just as hard, how I don't want to let myself down because I know I can do it...and push on! Don't hesitate to keep up this convo or email me or anything if you have more concerns/questions or need any support whatsoever. :)