This past weekend was doozie for me.  I didn’t really want to talk to anyone, do anything, or even concentrate on television.  I completely lacked the motivation to move.  All I wanted to do was sit on the couch and maybe watch some television, but that was a BIG maybe.

I don’t know what put me in this horrible mood, but it happened.  Last Friday I decided I needed a work out break because my workouts that week sounded like I was ordering hamburgers from Wendy’s:  triple (M), double (Tu), triple (W) and double (Th).  When Saturday morning came around I had every intention of doing my long run, but I just couldn’t do it.  It was still a bit raining so I decided to go to spin and do some weight training.  When I got to the gym, I immediately starting talking myself out spin but I would still do the weight training.  Yes, I did walk into the spin room and then I walked out and then I walked back in.

Halfway through class I was glad that I took the plunge to stick it out even though I was DYING.  Finishing the class made it much easier to go to Group Power.  Usually, I am the person that has to be stopped from working out 7 days a week.  Saturdays are usually my fun day because I do long runs and just enjoy the weekend.  This particular Saturday, I talked myself out of it very quickly.  I’m not totally convinced that if my friend hadn’t seen me sitting outside the spin class that I would have gone back in.  What was my problem?

People always say listen to your body when it comes to working out too much or just needing a rest day.  Everyone SHOULD listen to your body because it knows when enough is enough.  In this case, my body wasn’t the issue, it was my mind.  The mind is a powerful thing and it can be your best friend or your greatest enemy.  Saturday, my mind was not my friend and my body had to take over control.

When I run and I feel like I want to stop I always tell myself, “Your mind says quit before your body does.”  A friend told me that not too long ago and now I pass it on to you.  I know I would have been upset with myself if I didn’t get my Saturday workout in because I let my mind psych me out.

Don’t let yourself defeat YOU.  Push to be better than you were the day before and continue to grow everyday!  When you’re in a funk, exercise will usually help guide you to a better place.  Unfortunately, I stayed in my funk the rest of the weekend and I did sit on the couch the remainder of the day.  But I got my workout in and that is all that mattered.  If sitting on my couch, AFTER my workout, was what I needed to heal my soul, it was okay to do so.

We all have bad days; it’s how we deal with those days that define us.  Having a bad day isn’t a bad thing and even if I would have skipped my workout it would have been ok.  I would have survived to see another bad day.  Tomorrow is a new day to start fresh.  The musical Annie taught us all a valuable lesson: “The sun will come out tomorrow…” So we can get up, shake off the dust and start all over again!