Don't Overdo it Dave!
MidLifer Chronicles 19
Catching up
This week I'm catching myself back up after half-term. Rosie is back to school (or was until the call from the school today) and I'm now tackling a lot of the tasks I need to catch up on.
I also didn't get a lot of training done. Partly due to being knackered from the unexpected 9 mile run last Sunday, partly due to a trip to London to speak for a client and partly due to Rosie being off.
Recovery time needed
To be fair, I think I also needed the recovery time. I did do a couple of crossfit sessions, one of which was the second in the Crossfit Games Open qualifiers. That was good. The gym opened their doors on the Friday evening to hold judged sessions so anyone wanting to take part in the Open were able to complete the workout and get a score.
As an aside, the Crossfit Games is an international competition and boasts of having the biggest mass participation event in the world in the form of the Open Qualifiers. Basically anyone can register to compete and so long as they are officially judged, their score can count in the international rankings and could mean qualifying through to the finals in the USA in August. There are three workouts, one released per week over three weeks and it forms the basis of the community coming together to celebrate crossfit.
So, I registered and have completed now 2 out of the 3 qualifiers at the 'scaled' (i.e. a bit easier) level and am competing in the 50-55 masters age range. As of today I stand 25th out of 106 in the UK in my category. I'm chuffed with that, although it could all go wrong in the final workout which will be released on Thursday.
So, that aside, last week, whilst not an ideal training week, did mean I had some rest.
6am exists!
This week I felt more recharged and actually - GET THIS - actually got up and went for a run at 610am today. Now that is unheard of! And I didn't have to force myself to do it, nor did it feel 'heavy' - it felt good.
So, I'm pleased with that but do recognise that it comes down to how rested I feel and how much sleep I get.
And that's the key thing as I push on with the early marathon training. To train consistently but not get ahead of myself. Part of me now wants to get up at 6 every morning and run 5 miles, etc, etc. I've been here before. These intentions usually end in no action or some sort of injury or burnout.
So, I am celebrating the small win, but being pragmatic.
And that's the point of shaping my health efforts in a sustainable way. I need to weigh up things like life demands, business pressures, and general levels of mood and motivation.
In the past I would have denied any of that and put myself under immense pressure to go all in anyway.
Not this time. Yes, I'm pushing at the edges, but I'm going to keep an eye firmly on my energy levels and mood in particular.
If these drop in any significant way, I know they signal overdoing it and being unrealistic.
Don’t Overdo It!
So, this week, is more settled workwise and I am able to get to more crossfit sessions and some training runs. But I do need to NOT OVERDO IT DAVE!
I'll report in next week. Oh and I am now carrying a sore wrist from the open qualifier on Friday - nothing serious, but I think it's sore from the 75 sodding burpees that came with the workout. Impact injury I am guessing, so need to give that some rest too.
My question this week is; have you found yourself getting carried away with enthusiasm or feeling good, only to find yourself overdoing things? If so, don't be hard on yourself, but do learn from it. That's the key to making our efforts sustainable. Reining ourselves in (as per a previous chronicle) even when we feel we want to do so much more.
Find Out More
In the meantime, check out the podcast to check out the episodes and if you want to learn more about the support I offer in relation to helping you achieve your health and weight loss goals sustainably, visit the Academy or learn more about my more intensive Re-Shape Accelerator programmes, designed to help you to get your health back on track and establish lifelong habits for a more fulfilling midlife.
You can sign-up below to receive a weekly update from Dave - never miss an episode, resource or tip to help you re-shape your mid-life health and recapture that spirit of midlife adventure:
Dave
Dave Algeo, Restless Mid-Lifer
'It is never too late to get life back on your terms and have even bigger adventures!'
dave@restlessmidlifer.com
Dave has limited availability for one to one immersive re-shape support. Get in touch to learn more:
Sign-up to receive Dave’s weekly ‘Restless Mid-Lifer Chronicles’ - stay up to date with podcast episodes, resources, tools, tips and news:
Check out the 'Restless MidLifer’ Podcast:
You can, you really can:
Learn how you can sustainably transform your health, fitness and confidence in your own skin using Dave’s ‘Re-Shape’ methodology:
Checkout some Restless MidLifer client case studies and testimonials:
Questions? Check out Dave’s series of FAQ videos and posts:
Search the blog: