Pulling Out from the Funk

My job in real life is an Account Executive for a health claims administrator - or as my company likes to put it, an integrated healthcare management company.  It's a hard job... aka: stressful job.  Some weeks I'm working on my computer after hours at home and even when my laptop isn't open to the onslaught of emails, I'm probably thinking about a problem I need to tackle at work.

I've heard many runners talk about how running is their therapy.  I do agree with this in that the activity of running or any other exercise gives me a mental break.  I'm pretty good at putting the work out of my mind while I'm running or lifting.  But if I'm honest with myself, I know that a training schedule can add to my stress.  This time of year in particular, workload is heavy and trying to figure out when and how to get in the miles isn't easy.  Especially when I'd rather just go home, plop down on the couch, order a pizza and zone out on Facebook and Netflix.

In the last few weeks, I've been in a terrible funk as a result of the stress.  I've skipped a few training runs in a rebellious moment of weakness, only to feel guilty later when I've passed the ability to get out there and get it done.  It has been a circle difficult to break out of because the more stressed I feel, the less I want to run.  The more often I skip my run, the more stressed I am.  This all came to a big crescendo for me last week on Wednesday.  I found myself walking through the halls at work with my shoulders down and my head low.  I felt weepy, even though I'm not PMS'ing and I felt like a completely empty shell of myself.  I'm usually upbeat and can go with the ebb and flow of an ever-changing work environment with a positive attitude, or at least get through a bad attitude to myself and relatively quickly.

That evening, I decided I needed to fix me.

I called my good friend and asked her to have lunch with me the next day.  I worked with her for several years.  She was my walking buddy at work until she recently left the company.  Those daily walks were so good for my mental health.  Who knew?

As I was settling down for the evening, I poured myself a glass of wine.  But then, I dumped it out and opted for something a little better for me.

Thursday was another emotional day for me, but lunch with my friend helped me find perspective and to start thinking of positive ways to improve my situation.  Thanks, Mary!

On the way home I listened to a podcast I needed to hear.  Isn't it weird how that happens sometimes?

Click the image and look for "Daily Habits to Improve Health and Productivity for 2019" 

I took Chalene's words of advice and put them to work for me the next day.  When my alarm went off at 5:10 am, I got up without snoozing my alarm and got my workout in.  I've made every excuse to not get up in the mornings lately, so this was a step in the right direction!



I made a big decision on Friday too, but I will tell you more about that next time.  Suffice it to say that I recognize that I need to work towards something outside of just race goals and work goals.  I'm really excited.  This one decision has improved my outlook above and beyond anything else I could do for myself.  Stay tuned!  I promise I won't make you wait long to find out.

I'm signed up for the Lean Body Challenge which starts tomorrow.  I need something to motivate me to get to that race weight.  only 14 more weeks until Revel Mt. Charleston!  Last day to sign up is tomorrow, so if you're interested check out this link:  https://www.labrada.com/lbc

I'm back and I'm ready to hit the ground running to meet my goals and explore new things!  I hope you're ready to join me for the journey.

How do you pull yourself out of a running funk?

Who else is participating in a fitness challenge?