Friday, August 26, 2011

I Am A Triathlete

Hot! I know!

It is easy for me not to think of myself as an athlete.  I brush my workouts away thinking--anybody can do what I do. Then today as I pushed myself through a 1600m swim I thought to myself--I am an athlete!  This week alone I ran, biked and swam!  Not only am I an athlete, but that sounds like a triathlete to me!  Now if only I could get myself together and train for an actual triathlon.  That would be awesome!

I usually prefer morning workouts.  I want to get it done and over with so it doesn't plague me throughout my day.  That sounds funny, even to me, because many days my workout is my favorite part of the day.  So why do I allow it to hang like a dark cloud over my head? 

Anyhow, this morning my schedule was a bit off.  I had to hustle out the door bright and early to host a pep-rally for Girls on the Run.  That pushed my workout way back, and all the way home at 10am I drove myself crazy planning my workout, what and when.  I kept making excuses for why I should or shouldn't do certain things.   

I can't swim, I am still recovering for what felt like an ear infection.  Maybe I'll just wait until Forbes gets home from school.  It's too hot to run.  I have no one to workout with.

Finally I declared outloud: "Make an effort, not excuses!"  This action mantra pulled me through the rest of my drive, all the way home, into my swimsuit, back out of the house, to the gym, and even has I jumped into the icy pool.  (No worries, I wore ear plugs to keep the water out of my bad ear.)  "Make an effort, not excuses!" "Make an effort, not excuses!"  I repeated it over and over and over, until I found myself half way through my swim and no longer needed the motivation.  I was already doing it!

Action Mantras can help motivate you in any situation in life.  Dawn Jackson Blatner, author of The Flexitarian Diet, taught us about Action Mantras at HLS this week-end.  Every action is proceeded by a thought, and if we can control that thought process we can also control our actions.  Here are some great Action Mantras for you to try out: 
  • Make An Effort, Not Excuses. (written by the lovely Stephanie at Food and Fitness 4 Real)
  • Social Sweets Only (this one is already working for me!)
  • Table-Plate-Chair (I suck at this!)
  • No Free Food (the samples always get me!)
  • Meal By Meal (written by Tina at Faith Fitness Fun)
  • One Add On Only (at a restaurant you only get one in addition to your meal: appetizer, cocktail, dessert)
Those are just a few that are working for me right now?  Do you have action mantras that motivate you, whether its at work, with food or exercise?
These new flip flops motivated me to swim as well.  Quaker graciously handed them over at the summit this weekend and I have given them the great task of my new "shower shoes"!  Love them already!

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