Thanks. I needed that. Been going thru a very similar period for about 10 days. A friend said, your body must be telling you it needs some rest. And some junk food! Thanks again
Your “Fields of Schlub” is called Sunday! ( but without the junk food). My day of much needed mental and Physical rest. Thank you for your authentic self.
Frank, I’m so glad! Take it easy on yourself when your body/mind/heart is speaking their truths to you. I guess it’s not just chemical batteries that charge better if they’re fully drained first; human batteries seem to operate the same way.
Irina, that’s a great question. (And a good answer to it, too). Until this week, I don’t know if I’ve ever thought of pauses as pauses, rather than just me not performing—and being frustrated about it. I have a friend who says he purposely builds in what he calls “bullshit time” into his weekly calendar, for when things go sideways unexpectedly and you have to spend time you didn’t plan on spending to fix them. If you plan for bullshit time, you don’t get frustrated when you have to spend it. Same goes for pausing: plan on it happening, so when it happens, it feels like “oh, here’s the pause; embrace it.”
I have a feeling that once I allow myself the grace of pausing, I’ll be eager to unpause in short order. I surfed yesterday and today, thanks to a surfer friend being in town and eager to get on the water, and I think I’m unpaused now, but with a major post-surf mellow feeling.
I ran a 10k this morning and I'm sitting here doing absolutely nothing, which feels like the most productive thing I've done all week. Adaptation doesn't happen during the stimulus. It happens in the recovery window. Your body knew that before your brain caught up — which, as you've just illustrated, is usually how it goes.
Daniella, well said. Adaptation doesn’t happen during the stimulus. To which I would add a corollary: And it sure as hell isn’t found in a bag of Fritos.
They were Trader Joe’s version of Fritos, so not nearly as bad as the Frito-Lay deathfood variety, but still…..
Part of prepping for any long distance event—be it marathon, triathlon, or just life— involves a period of tapering. This is the forced rest before the race and it is built into any decent training program. Mentally, it is often the hardest part of the process for athletes whose days revolve around working themselves harder, achieving a performance goal. It’s easy to feel panicked, like you’re losing your edge or being lazy. But if you don’t pull back before the big race, you’re screwed. Consider the last couple of weeks your taper. Sometimes your body knows exactly what to do, and that mean little voice in your head needs to simmer down and kindly STFU.
Thank you for this! This just happened to me, too. I hit a proverbial speed bump last week in my version of 'pursuit of excellence'. I mostly ignored it and carried on thinking it each speed bump was just something that needed minor adjustment. But on Saturday, having ignored the bumps, I hit a wall which looked like lying nearly comatose watching daytime tv and eating most of a box of cookies. I desperately needed what a friend calls 'a potato day.' Thanks for keeping it real with us.
Thanks. I needed that. Been going thru a very similar period for about 10 days. A friend said, your body must be telling you it needs some rest. And some junk food! Thanks again
Just not Fritos, I beg of you, Tom! But I’m glad this landed at an opportune time. We all need to give it rest, sometimes, I suppose.
No Fritos. Ice cream!
...and today's post is precisely why i continue to check in with you- keeping it profoundly real, all the time. TY.
Michelle, I'm glad this is helpful, and I can't think of a bigger compliment than keeping it profoundly real, all the time. Thank you for that.
Your “Fields of Schlub” is called Sunday! ( but without the junk food). My day of much needed mental and Physical rest. Thank you for your authentic self.
Lauren, maybe you’re right. Sundays are for the saunas, sans workouts preceding them.
Timing was perfect for this substack post fro me.... thanks Paul
Frank, I’m so glad! Take it easy on yourself when your body/mind/heart is speaking their truths to you. I guess it’s not just chemical batteries that charge better if they’re fully drained first; human batteries seem to operate the same way.
When do you know that it is time to unpause? For me, it is when the narrative changes from "I have to/ I should" to "I get to/ I want to"
Irina, that’s a great question. (And a good answer to it, too). Until this week, I don’t know if I’ve ever thought of pauses as pauses, rather than just me not performing—and being frustrated about it. I have a friend who says he purposely builds in what he calls “bullshit time” into his weekly calendar, for when things go sideways unexpectedly and you have to spend time you didn’t plan on spending to fix them. If you plan for bullshit time, you don’t get frustrated when you have to spend it. Same goes for pausing: plan on it happening, so when it happens, it feels like “oh, here’s the pause; embrace it.”
I have a feeling that once I allow myself the grace of pausing, I’ll be eager to unpause in short order. I surfed yesterday and today, thanks to a surfer friend being in town and eager to get on the water, and I think I’m unpaused now, but with a major post-surf mellow feeling.
I ran a 10k this morning and I'm sitting here doing absolutely nothing, which feels like the most productive thing I've done all week. Adaptation doesn't happen during the stimulus. It happens in the recovery window. Your body knew that before your brain caught up — which, as you've just illustrated, is usually how it goes.
Daniella, well said. Adaptation doesn’t happen during the stimulus. To which I would add a corollary: And it sure as hell isn’t found in a bag of Fritos.
They were Trader Joe’s version of Fritos, so not nearly as bad as the Frito-Lay deathfood variety, but still…..
Part of prepping for any long distance event—be it marathon, triathlon, or just life— involves a period of tapering. This is the forced rest before the race and it is built into any decent training program. Mentally, it is often the hardest part of the process for athletes whose days revolve around working themselves harder, achieving a performance goal. It’s easy to feel panicked, like you’re losing your edge or being lazy. But if you don’t pull back before the big race, you’re screwed. Consider the last couple of weeks your taper. Sometimes your body knows exactly what to do, and that mean little voice in your head needs to simmer down and kindly STFU.
Okay but only kindly.
Thank you for this! This just happened to me, too. I hit a proverbial speed bump last week in my version of 'pursuit of excellence'. I mostly ignored it and carried on thinking it each speed bump was just something that needed minor adjustment. But on Saturday, having ignored the bumps, I hit a wall which looked like lying nearly comatose watching daytime tv and eating most of a box of cookies. I desperately needed what a friend calls 'a potato day.' Thanks for keeping it real with us.
My Fields of Schlub is your Potato Day. We all need them, now and then, Heather.
What kind of cookies, and how many?
Simple Mills sandwich cookies - which helped me justify eating, about 14, just shy of the whole box.
Oh yeah. Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about. Heather eats almost a whole box of cookies. Pause in effect. That’s solid work.