My Journey With Weight Loss – Identifying The Issue

Yesterday did not start out well. I had woken up about 3:00am and looked at my Fitbit for the time only to realize it was dead. I thought that was a bit strange as I still had some battery power left the last time I looked but I got up and put it on the charger thinking that would fix the problem. When I got up a couple hours later I did what I always do and got things organized for the day including putting my rubber toe sock inside my shoe so that I wouldn’t forget to put it on. Things then just got worse. The Fitbit had apparently completely died, it would not charge nor power on so of course I had to replace it right away (yes, still obsessed with tracking everything on that device). Then somehow in walking from my bedroom to the living room I had lost my toe sock. I have no idea where it went but fortunately it was cheap to replace (I actually bought 2 so that I will always have a spare).

Today was my 8 km run. The weather here has been just horrible the past couple days so that meant running on the dreaded treadmill. I wasn’t long into my run when I realized something about it was bothering me. I had a good show on my iPad which should have distracted me but I couldn’t concentrate on it, instead I was thinking I definitely am not feeling the love doing this run.

I decided it was time to assess my run and try to figure out what was wrong. I checked my posture and yes my shoulders and neck were relaxed. Gut check showed abs were nice and tight. My legs were pumping strong and certainly weren’t tired. My toe no longer so much as twinges even when I run so that couldn’t be the problem. So, what the hell?

Just before the halfway mark it hit me as I was already grabbing my 2nd washcloth to try and wipe off my sweat (I keep a big stack of washcloths next to the treadmill), despite not really pushing it I was sweating profusely. I realized the garage wasn’t exactly cool this morning and I probably should have turned on the fan before I started running but by time I figured that out it was too late (I don’t like to stop as I don’t want to find an excuse not to start again). I told myself, ok you know why you feel uncomfortable so stop thinking about it an focus on how great your legs feel even after about 4 km. The rest of the run that is exactly what I did, as best as possible I ignored the sweat and thought about how well everything else was going. I finished off that 8 km run strong and with a smile on my face though I note I had completely saturated 3 washcloths and still needed a towel to finish drying off.

I like to use what is almost like a checklist when I am not enjoying a run. I know there is something there that is distracting me and once I know what the issue is I try to find a way to minimize it. Seriously, it would have been ridiculous for me to have quit today just because my shirt was getting wet. Instead I turned my brain away from that and thought about something that would drive me forward. Apparently it worked because I feel pretty good about the run I did this morning.