Thursday Theory: Setbacks
This week I had a setback. I have a chronic medical condition, I'm sure I'll get into at some other time, and I had to have a minor medical procedure this week which led to a minimum of two doctor mandated days off from training. Ugh! Two days off from work and no training! And I was in such a good training groove. I was so disappointed - I wanted to do something fun (running, yoga, skiing, basically anything movement based), and I was hanging out on my couch instead.
I've had setbacks in the past - and I went into this little setback prepared. So here are a few tips and tricks I used to get through these days.
(1) Remember: train to train another day. This is my motto across the board - it's good to push yourself, it's good to go hard, but always remember to push yourself in a smart way - don't let your ego get in the way.
(2) The corollary: Rest days can be the best days. This one is a little harder for me to swallow. But I have to tell myself this so that my muscles can get stronger - because they get stronger when we take a rest day. And sometimes, you need to take a rest day because your body needs it - training when you should be resting could cause injury or damage that will keep you from being able to work hard and have fun in the future - totally not worth it!
(3) Use your downtime to do some intellectual training. For me that means planning hikes, reading a book about training for running, or doing some internet searching for races. I also like to use my downtime to read cookbooks and find new go-to recipes. Oh yeah, and I read some books for fun. Also - who has downtime? I usually don't, so it was pretty cool to have a few hours to do things that I typically consider self-indulgent.
(4) If you're quirky like me - set yourself up for success in silly ways. A few months ago I bought a heating pad that is shaped like a sloth, I bought some of my favorite tea from the coffee shop I frequent to make at home, and I made sure I had a few coffee mugs that would make me happy. Things shouldn't matter, but they sometimes make downtime a little more palatable.
(5) Since this was a scheduled setback (even if scheduled at the last minute), I decided to make the days leading up to it extra fun. I went skiing twice and took an extra yoga class (where I took a pose that I've never been able to do before).
(6) I changed my phone wallpaper to the photo above. It's the motto spray painted on the wall at my yoga studio. I need to remember that my efforts right now are good enough as long as I am doing the best that I can under the circumstances and as soon as I'm mended I'll be back out there!
I hope that you can avoid setbacks - but if you can't, I hope some of these ideas help you get to the other side OK. Probably going to need to take a third day off tomorrow, but gearing up for a return to activities I love on Saturday - just in time to live up to my nickname - Wicked Weekend Warrior.
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