I cheated on the gym ... with running

Running a marathon made me lazy.

Seems odd, I know, but it's true.

For 18 weeks, almost everything K and I did revolved around running -- what we ate, the plans we made (and missed out on), our sleep schedules ... even what I wore to work was affected by training (heels? after running 6 miles in the morning and knowing I had to run 18 on the weekend? Puh-leaze!).

All of our energy went toward running. When we reached the peak in our training plan in late September, we quit going to the gym. As the Saturday (longest run of the week) distances increased, our Saturday plans decreased. We'd run, shower, and veg for the rest of the day.

We quit folding laundry. We quit going grocery shopping. We weren't staying on top of the housework like we usually do.

By the time we ran the marathon, we were completely out of the habit of grocery shopping and going to the gym. We didn't care to resume either activity. And then came Thanksgiving and the rush of the upcoming holidays ... K's aunt & uncle visited ... and then it was Christmas. We ran a few times in there (maybe 30 miles total), but still no gym.

Then last week, we went to the gym for the first time since September. It was awful.

The cardio warmup was fine, of course. But the pull ups we did after? Pure torture. I struggled so much doing less than what was a warmup for me just 3 pathetic months ago. I was disgusted and frustrated. How did this happen? Yeah, we hadn't been lifting weights or working our arms, but it wasn't like we were sitting around! We were training for a marathon! We were in probably the best shape of our lives. How could we lose strength at the same time?

I could see how people would get discouraged when they're beginning to work out or are getting back into it after a longer time off. It's hard to start up again! Especially when, like last week for us, you manage to find better things to do a couple other nights of the week.

This week, though, we're back in the game. We've gone the last 3 days in a row, and I'm already feeling better about myself. I've realized with a lot of exercises, I haven't lost much strength, really; it's the stabilizing muscles that I need to regain.

It'll come, and I know in a month or so, we'll be back to where we were in September.

Funny how hard you work to get to a certain point ... how easy it is to fall out of it (even if you're training for a freaking marathon) ... how hard it is to get back into it ...

... but how quickly it can feel like you're getting somewhere again.

Thank goodness!