The mile is my go to analogy for life. I compare many things to this 4 lap piece of heaven. Each lap has it's pros and cons and each has a special place in my heart. Believe it or not my LEAST favorite lap is the first...not because I have the whole race ahead of me...I really don't mind the pain...but there is still so much unknown as I come out of the first turn and head down the back stretch. No rhythm has been established and the tension is high...when I start a WOD in the gym it takes me a round or two to hit my stride (see...there it is again...a race analogy!) The second lap is sweet relief...my breathing has settled down, my legs are on auto pilot and my senses are keen. Coming down the home stretch after lap two is when the race really starts...half way has always been a great tipping point...
I had my gymnastics girls do 100 evil burpees for their conditioning workout today. I broke them down into sets of five on the minute and gave them a minute rest after 10 minutes. After each 25 I told them...if you were running a mile you would be completing the first lap...etc. etc. They were not as thrilled with the analogy as I was however...they all were happy to be doing evil burpees rather than running a mile...(go figure!) I can't help myself... but breaking things down into manageable pieces is a great mental strategy for an athlete..regardless of the activity.
So today is my half way point...from here on out I have less of the challenge ahead of me than I do behind...I am coming down the other side of the mountain, I am heading into the third lap...I had my shaky first week and then my easier second week...I am at the tipping point now....I am entering the penultimate lap...Lap Three....many a mile race is decided in this lap...it isn't always apparent to the crowd as all they have is what they see, but lap three is a decisive lap...moves are made, tactics are employed and actions executed...THIS is my favorite lap of the race...I was a really good miler once and I always knew during the third lap what I would need to do to win...I was seldom beaten at this distance if I was good enough to be in the hunt...the last lap is simply the ocean roaring in my ears and every cell of my body, mind and soul is completely engaged (like those last 62.5 kettlebell swings in my 250 workout). Very few things in life can imitate this feeling...
As much as I am excited about entering the third lap of my eating challenge I know that I will need to make good decisions in the next two weeks not because I will fail the challenge...but because I could fail to continue the challenge, to create and ingrain the new habits into my subconscious...you see I want to carry on with these eating habits after the 30 days are up...I may have the occasional bowl of oatmeal..(I really miss that) but I do NOT miss the honey bun...or the soda...it's pretty amazing...I really miss mac and cheese too... so this next week will be important for me...it will be time to intellectualize this challenge. Compile recipes, get a bigger crock pot, actually USE a crockpot! A time to begin to execute actions and make decisions, develop tactics that will allow me to maintain my stride for 15 more days. Bring on the mile.....errrrr.the crock pot....Bring on Lap Three!!
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