The Rut

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a fan of structure.  I don't deviate much from my normal schedule, and "pencil in" just about everything.  It's sick, to a point, but it helps me stay calm which is always important!  Unfortunately, when you are so "set in your ways" like me, you tend to find yourself in a rut from time to time.  That was me this week, I was in the dreaded rut and I wasn't quite sure what to do about it.

Doing my own analysis of my situation, I should have seen it coming.  Two weeks of testing ALL day, dreary weather, lack of groceries,  a huge pile of laundry.  All signs were pointing to lack of enthusiasm and motivation. I was also caught up in all the developments in Boston, and just couldn't shake the sense of shock at what was unfolding.  It wasn't looking good for me or my healthy lifestyle.  Unfortunately, when the dreaded Rut appears, the first thing I do is turn to a bottle of wine (red preferably in this situation) and fast food.  Tim noticed I was heading down this dreary path early in the week, about the second time I suggested pizza for dinner.  Luckily he is a wonderful husband, and made me bruschetta instead (one of my other favorite Rut foods).

I knew by Wednesday that something had to change.  Physically, I felt awful.  I was eating like poo, and exercise wasn't high on my to-do list.  Luckily, a good friend of mine decided she wanted to get into running and I had previously agreed to help her out.  Our first run together was Wednesday evening, 2 miles around the neighborhood, just enough to help that feeling of normalcy start coming back.

After our run, I still had some energy so I went to the gym.  Another 3 miles and a good strength circuit and I was starting to feel like myself again.  Then Thursday hit.  The last day of testing SHOULD have been a welcome relief, but instead it was, in my opinion, the longest and hardest section yet.  Even more frustrating, my students were tapped out, by this point I could guarantee that what they put on that paper was FAR from their best work.  I don't blame them I wasn't doing my best work either.  Luckily, we had Friday off and Thursday's weather was gorgeous.  My glass of wine Thursday was more in celebration than frustration.

Friday came, and the weather changed dramatically.  We went from sunny and 80 on Thursday, to dreary and low-50s on Friday.  When I woke up this morning (Saturday), it was snowing.  Seemed like Mother Nature was in her own kind of funk, and I wasn't enjoying it!

 After wallowing in self-pity fora few minutes, I decided it was time to take action.  By 8am, I had both M and Tim up and dressed and we were going shopping.  I needed a few things for the house, plus a new outfit never hurts.  By the time we left the mall, I had spent all my "me money" from this last check and was feeling better.

When I got home, I knew I needed to work out.  We had Subway for lunch which normally isn't too bad, but I ate WAY more than I needed to.  By this point it had warmed up to a balmy 39 outside and the sun was out.  Deciding I needed some Vitamin D, I went running.  But this was not just any run, I decided that I still wanted to go to the gym.  Instead of driving there, I ran.  

In all it was about 2.5 miles both ways.  The way there went AWESOME, as it's all down hill.  The way home was a bit more tiresome as it was uphill, and I did do a bit of leg work at the gym.  However, that awesome "high" you get after a great workout was just what I needed to hopefully break my Rut.  Even several hours later, I'm still feeling great and looking forward to a long run tomorrow.  Here's to hoping that my Rut goes away!