Sometimes as I scroll through my Facebook feed it is hard not to feel jealous. I see people posting accomplishments and I feel left behind. As menopause has settled in for real, I struggle to sleep and with constant fatigue. It has affected my mood, and my motivation. Sometimes I’m even a little ashamed because a Facebook memory will pop up of something I accomplished two years ago which seems unattainable now.
Last year during the summer I started to struggle running in the humidity. I don’t know why it seemed sooooo much harder but it did and still does. I’ve taken to multiple walk breaks when I run in humidity. This is something I would have considered a complete failure by this time two years ago. But now, I am working on covering distances, and if I need walk breaks to accomplish that, then so be it. I have also noticed that I am getting faster the longer into a run I get. It feels more comfortable and I can sustain it for longer periods of time. A small success, but right now I am less picky than I was before.
So, my new motto is to celebrate small successes. Such as last night I may have had broken sleep, but when I did sleep I slept well. That small success helped me to get out the door this morning and get to the gym. Although I have to admit my motivation was not as high as I would have liked I put in a decent work out and added twenty five minutes of cardio at the end. Something I haven’t done for awhile.
Also, I have noticed that when the humidity is lower, or the temperature is cooler not only can I run without walk breaks my speed is getting better again. Although I need to work on my distances, I am proud of the fact that I feel as though I am making progress. And my biking came back to where it was two years ago. I can get in just about thirteen miles in an hour. For me that is pretty fast. Hills are once again getting easier and I am working towards the thirty mile ride in October.
Getting Faster!
So, I know I need goals. Because working out sucks but training makes you feel like a super hero. The only problem is, I don’t feel ready to run a half marathon yet, and to be honest, I’m not sure I want the pressure. So for now, I think I will just keep celebrating my little successes.
Today I crawled out of bed at ten of five and made it to the gym before five thirty. I put in a solid fifty five minutes of working out. That is a small success.
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