Training Notes: March in Review
MARCH STATS
Days in Gym: 11
Time in Gym: 15 hours 12 minutes
Monthly Mileage
Run-0 Bike-21.6 miles Hike- 4.1 miles
2025 Mileage to Date
Run-0 Bike-21.6 miles Hike- 8.6 miles
MARCH FOCUS
My goal coming into March was to have a big transition month. I wanted to continue to build strength, lose weight, and ease back into running- slowly building miles to prepare myself for lots of time on my feet in the months ahead. Unfortunately none of that happened. I came down with a bad case of the flu about a week in, followed by some really severe respiratory stuff that took me out of commission for a couple of weeks and stole a lot of strength and stamina that I'm still struggling to regain.
There were a few positive takeaways from the month. Despite the illness related setbacks, I am intent on moving forward. I continued to get to the gym when I could, and though I felt it was best to delay my return to running a bit longer, with the return of nice weather I made it out for a few bike rides, and one morning hike. I'm really trying not to panic as I fall further behind on my training schedule, and know better than to rush headlong into injury. Patience will remain important as I keep trying to transition back.
APRIL GOALS
Full disclosure, as I write this post we're already well into April, so I don't want to be disingenuous knowing things still aren't going well. My biggest goal was to start running again this month and to get back into a consistent routine, working out at least 4-5 days a week. I have started running, but the workout consistency is lacking. I'll write more about that in my actual April post, but I've continued struggling to get back to full strength and to maintain my schedule. I've also had some pretty big setbacks in my personal life that have affected my ambition and focus. My mental health hasn't been great since last fall, and I continue to cycle in and out of periods where I'm really having difficulty with motivation. I'm behind on other things and will unceremoniously negotiate with myself- deciding to skip a workout to complete other tasks- then end up doing neither. (Not something I'm proud of, just being transparent.) All stuff I'll keep fighting to get through as we close out the month.
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS
Self image is something that I've always had a hard time with, and those insecurities do creep up when I go to the gym. As I've said, I gained a bit of weight over the winter, and that ol' farmer Meier pot belly has reemerged, which happens to be very well accentuated in athletic wear. It doesn't bother me enough to prevent me from actually going to the gym (I've got plenty of other excuses there) it's just enough to make me cringe a bit when I walk past a mirror. I know it's temporary. I know this body ran a fifty mile race just 8 months ago, and I intend to transform this flab to muscle again, and do some big things in the months ahead. But it does make me self conscious in the moment, and I think this makes me more mindful of how other people feel challenged by perceptions of their own body image, too.
With that, I thought I'd share a thought on which people I look up to most when I go to the gym. Which ones truly have my admiration. It's not the muscle heads or the Insta-models in designer Spandex. (To be fair, I do respect these people too- most have worked hard to maintain or improve their fitness and are just at a different stage of their journey.) But I don't take notice and think "hell yeah..." when I see such people going through their routines. The ones that get my attention and really stand out are the people that might feel out of place there. It's the overweight woman still in her work shirt from Subway, walking on the treadmill. It's the old man who holds tight to the hand rail as he cautiously climbs the stairs, but is there every night, pedaling for twenty minutes on the stationary bike. It's the people who wear baggy clothes, choose equipment off to the side and out of view, and exhibit similar tendencies that suggest they aren't there with an abundance of confidence. But they are there. They are trying, and they continue to show up. They want to improve things about themselves, each for a reason of their own, and in addition to finding the time and motivation and everything else we all must deal with in our busy days, they probably have to overcome a lot of self doubt and fear of judgement. They likely feel out of place. But still, they're there. That takes the kind of courage that not everybody understands.
These are the people at the gym who inspire me. These are the ones I admire most.
