Rolling heads and the finite amount of give-a-shit.

Last week was one where all the wheels kind of fell off.  And you know what?  It’s ok.  It’s easy to start freaking out when your routine gets ripped to shreds and your brain feels like jello, but sometimes you just have to roll with the tide until it’s calmer.

Or roll like heads?  As seen in the parking garage where I work. #domainthings

Thing #1 that broke routine: The Olympics.

My DVR is worthless and rarely can pick up more than a day of Olympic coverage, and randomly decides to not record segments.  So, that means to stay on top of it, I’ve been staying up wayyyyy too late a lot of nights binge watching so I have enough room for the next day’s content.

I’ve been joking that it’s super hard to be an athlete in training when the Olympics are on, but it’s SO TRUE.

Thing #2: Game Jam.

Our workplace does this AWESOME thing every year – they let us break up into small teams, and take our own game ideas from concept to completion.  It’s a super fun and exciting time, but it’s also a super stressful and hectic time trying to learn new things and ship a completed game in the span of a week.  I normally have ebb and flow at work, and it was all flow last week, all the time, including one day where I didn’t leave until after midnight.

Thing #3: the Personal Fitness Trainer exam.

I had been studying for this exam by rolling through the practice test over and over.  Then, the day before, we did a little research online and found out that it was supposed to be MUCH HARDER than that.  UGH.  So instead of the hour or two we planned to do review and prep on Monday, we crammed for about 5 hours, leaving about 6.5 hours of sleep.

The good news is that we passed!  I got a 95% (and you only needed 69).  The bad news is we had to go into work late because of it, which meant we needed to work late.  This meant a super late dinner, then we celebrated with some beverages and the Olympics… and then it was wayyyy later than reasonable on a weekday.  Oops.  So, the test and our reaction to the test killed about 2 full days this week.

That happy but slightly crazed expression after passing the exam?  Sorta sums up last week…

Three awesome, fun things, that combined into the perfect storm of tossing my life into chaos last week.  What did that mean for my day to day?  Less than optimal rest, shady nutrition, less intensity and volume in training than expected, and feeling crazy overwhelmed.  I didn’t track, I didn’t get my fruits and veggies, I definitely went over calories some day, I didn’t take my vitamins, and I missed some workouts and cut some short.

I have learned over the years that stress, is stress, is stress.  Doesn’t matter which type.  You have a finite amount of Give-a-Shit, and while you can borrow from said Give-a-Shit, you always have to pay it back (and if you don’t… hello Burnout).  So, instead of getting down on myself, or rallying and trying to fit everything in a crazy week, I let some things slide.

The great news is the stressors ALL were temporary.  I’m taking time off before I start on my next course.  Maybe I’ll start this week, but probably when I get back from vacation.  Either way, it’s back to reading and studying at my own pace instead of cramming for a scheduled and proctored test.  The Olympics are ending this weekend.  Game Jam is over.  Life is returning to normal.

The other great news is that my weight didn’t take a beating.  I weighed in this morning and it was actually way better than expected.  Whew!  I know I can’t get away with this for much longer, so back to the wagon, on the straight and narrow, and all the other euphemisms for picking myself up, dusting myself off, and doing better this week.

So, back to it.  Let’s roll.

Workouts: the goal this week is to hit the gist of them.  It’s rainy and cooler, so some bike miles might move to the trainer, or they might convert to run miles since OMG it’s in the 70s!!!

• Monday: 3+ mile run, weights
• Tuesday: 1500m swim, endurance cycle
• Wednesday: plan is ~3 hours of riding including commuting and recovery ride.  We’ll see how this goes.
• Thursday: weights, 1500m swim (OWS if I can, pool if not)
• Friday: off
• Saturday: shorty 3-ish mile run
• Sunday: 8 mile trail run, short bike ride

This should be 10 hours, give or take.  I’m actually feeling pretty darn rested right now, so this shouldn’t be a problem barring extenuating circumstances.

Lots of takeout last week.  At least I tried to make with the healthy options (most of the time).

Eating: get back to the good stuff and a normal routine.  Please?

• No takeout until either: a) Friday night or b)I have exhausted all leftovers and sandwich fixins.  I think Friday night will come first.  I’ve got a lot in my freezer.
• Take my vitamins every day.
• Track my food, stay -1000 under my burn.
• Drink 4 of my 24 oz bottles of water per day independent of exercise hydration.
• Fruits and veggies.  Eat them.  Five a day.

Life: calm my shit.  And do the normal things.

• Do not stay up until I can count the hours until work on one hand.  In fact, if I need three hands to count the amount of hours I can sleep, I’m doing it right.
• School is last priority this week.  If I have motivation and nothing else I need to do, go for it.  If not, I’m going to take the week to relax and let the noodles in my head firm up.
• Get things ready for vacation.

And with that… rainy wet (but cooler, yayayayay) Monday ENGAGE!