The Feeling Of 'I Should Be Doing More…'

The Feeling Of 'I Should Be Doing More…'

At the time of writing it's Friday afternoon. This morning I did a swim session, something that is on my programme every Friday morning. When my alarm went off I really didn't want to go. My hip was sore, I hadn't slept that well and I was pretty tired. But not to let my training partner down (who I give a lift to the pool) I dragged myself up and too the car.

The plan when I got into the pool… just swim. Honestly the first 400m or so felt heavy, like I was going to simply struggle to stay afloat! And then something funny happened. I was catching someone… my shoulders magically stopped feeling like they were grinding, my legs didn't feel like they were sinking and my lungs felt like they could inflate! I stopped focusing on the fact that I was tired and my competitive instinct kicked in. It wasn't then just about getting past someone it became 'How few laps can I make it until I lap them again?' or 'Guy in the fast lane, we might be going stroke for stroke now but I'm going to outlast you… when you break, I win'. After a terrible, slow and lethargic 400m my overall average ended up being pretty decent (for me anyway).

You know it's true what they say. The heaviest weight you will lift is the door, be that on the way into the gym or out of the house in the morning. Even if I had kept struggling through that morning, at least I would have struggled through, why? Because I was there, already out of bed, what else would I do.

The crazy thing… I ended up having a really good session that morning. Yet I was sat on my sofa, doing my 9-5 job, like I do every day and the overwhelming feeling was that I should be doing more. I was sat there feeling lazy and unproductive. I had trained 6 out of 7 days in the last week and Ii was sat there feeling like I'm not doing enough. Honestly I think some of it comes down to holding onto old expectations, missing what my body could do when I was younger and had barely any responsibilities (or acted like I didn't anyway).

Sitting and thinking about it now, I managed to tweak my back/ hip again on  the Monday morning and still managed to adapt and train through it, got some quality sessions in and ultimately got fitter.

I don't really know what I am trying to say there, maybe it's just a bit of a ramble. Maybe what I am trying to say is simple… Training can be tough, there are times where it feels like a grind, especially when you are training most days. So do what you can, however you can get motivated to do it. Accept that the tough days are going to come, some sessions are going to be bad, but some sessions are going to be fantastic and leave you with an incredible high. It is all a part of the ride.

Andy