New problems, new solutions

I didn't lie in my last post, I really am redoubling my efforts and trying my best to stay with the program.  I haven't slept in, haven't gone out to eat, and have only eaten healthy food.  I also went to the gym this morning for some strength training.  I would have liked to do some running, but I made the stupid mistake of sprinting at school in my DCs and ended up with my first running injury, a rather pronounced case of metatarsalgia (sp?), basically where the ball of your foot gets scrunched together and swells up.  I COULD run on it, but I think the smart thing to do is to stay off of it until its fully recovered.  Until then I'm going to focus on strength training and spinning.  For those of you not in the know, spinning is just a fancy term for doing cardio on an exercise bike. Its supposed to be a good workout comparable to (but not as good as) running, but with zero impact so its better on your joints.  Its a good substitute for running when you have an injury that running may exacerbate. 

So those are the new problems, but what are the new solutions?  Well, the solution is the cure to my enthusiasm problem.  Its tough to find motivation to run sometimes, but it helps a lot when you have a goal or something to look forward to.  When I was at the gym this morning I saw a flyer for a Valentine's Day 5K.  Its on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 12 2011, about 3 months away.  Since I can already run 5K no problem (about 3.2 miles) I'm going to try to speed up my pace and focus on running 3.2 miles at a comfortably fast pace.  I know that I'm not going to win or anything, but I would like to make a decent time.  My first race might also give me a new boost of enthusiasm to help me continue running, and if I enter more 5Ks I will have a time to use as a reference to see how I'm improving!

Mein Kampf

Phase 1 has stalled, sputtered and died.  I want to blame it on Thanksgiving, but thats just an excuse to mask the fact that my enthusiasm for getting healthy has faded, as it always does.  This in itself is not a bad thing, because you cannot maintain a beginner's enthusiasm forever.  Instead, it is an inevitable part of the process.  This is the point where things get tough and most people give up. The few that stick around do so because they learned to replace their enthusiasm with commitment.  Its easy to run when you are looking forward to it, but its tough to run when you are sick of it.  Tough, but not impossible.  As I have said, I have fallen out of love with getting healthy, and my lifestyle shows it.  I haven't run in a little over a week, I have been eating fast food quite a bit, I haven't fixed a healthy meal for myself in a few days, and just today I binged on some Mexican food. In addition to all of that, I also have been sleeping in pretty late.  I have pretty much ignored every habit that I laid out in my last post.

Here is the difference between this attempt at getting healthy and every other one that I have made: now that my initial enthusiasm has worn off and I have "fallen off the wagon" again, instead of judging myself as weak and pathetic and giving up totally, I will persevere.  I accept that I have not followed my plan perfectly, and in acknowledging this I vow to redouble my efforts and come back even stronger.  I haven't failed until I give up, and I will not give up on this.

Phase 1 is still in progress, and I am officially back on the wagon.