On skipping workouts and life

I was on the phone with my husband this afternoon and mentioned how I did not feel like doing my 12 miler. He told me matter of factly not to do it, but I told him I had to. He said something about me not having to be goal oriented in everything I do, and I explained that this has nothing to do with goals. It's more than that.

The thing is, I never skip workouts. I may change them around, but I never skip them. My reason? Fear! To me, skipping a workout is like walking in a race. Once I give myself that option, there is no turning back. Starting back up running after you walk is hard, and all I can think about is walking again. So I never do it. This is one reason why I carry my own water in races. I don't want to walk or slow down. So yes, skipping a workout would open the door for more skipped workouts. Unless I have to stay late at work, or my family demands me, or we have scheduling issues, or I am sick (like really sick), I get out there and do the workout no matter what. This is also why I rarely entertain thoughts about not doing a workout. These thoughts feel to me like a waste of time, since I know I will get out there anyway.

So today was a bit of a struggle. Training and work are at their peak, basketball games are going late and we often have people over for these, so I end up working late while watching basketball and going to bed late . I wake up early for me (6am) and get into work around 6:45 (I perfected the 10 min morning prep and 5 minute train makeup), to get a head start. I pretty much go, go, go until midnight. I do get in a couple of 10 minute naps, and sometimes a 20 min nap on a mat in my office, but that is not enough at this point. I used to nap in the weekends, but I can't really justify to myself doing that when I am gone for 4 hours biking and running every Sunday. I am certainly not complaining, I love my life and I choose to do what I am doing. I also know that I am in the last week of a big block of training, and I am supposed to feel tired. Next week is recovery, so I will be doing almost 50% less of what I am doing now (training wise, work will stay busy).

So yes, I could be doing only the work thing, or only the gym thing, but training gives me much more than a focus on health, or on how my body looks (though it does come with perks in these areas). I have always believed that it is important to have something that is yours, aside from the 2 pillars family and work, something to stabilize the other 2, like the 3rd leg of a 3 legged chair. The chair would lose its balance if it only had 2 legs, and so would I. And this is why I dragged myself out there today and really suffered through 12 miles on heavy legs. And I feel better for it!