They say you never regret a workout. While I definitely agree with this, it doesn’t mean it’s easy to get up and complete that workout. This past week was the last week of our half-marathon training program and my desire to lift and run was just about zero. 

It was extremely difficult to get started, and my husband, Cosmos, and I even skipped a day or two when the air quality was too poor to run outside due to the smoke. By the time Wednesday rolled around, we decided that we’d had enough of our procrastination and were going to go to the gym to run our last four miles before the big race day. 

Before the work day ended, we agreed that we would go home, cook and eat dinner, and then head to the gym for our run. We decided we weren’t going to make any excuses for how late it was because we knew that we would be happy with our decision to actually complete the run instead of putting it off for another day. 

We only had the ability to make this decision because of our past experiences in this situation. Time and time again, the workouts we feel the least like doing always end up being the most fulfilling and rewarding ones. They are also the ones where we’re more likely to hit personal bests or just end up feeling great. 

History definitely repeated itself, and once we got to the gym and started running, we had one of our best runs of the entire training program. Once we were done, we both agreed we were happy we stopped procrastinating and got our run in. We even ended up going to bed at our normal time. 

Our minds like to play tricks on us to keep us in our comfort zone. Staying home after dinner on Wednesday would have been very comfortable, just as not completing my programmed workouts on Monday and Tuesday was. But the truth of the matter is that as much as it’s comfortable in the moment, not doing what we said we were going to do brings on more discomfort later. 

Although I would have been comfortable in my pajamas and in bed, not completing my scheduled training runs would have left me feeling disappointed in myself and  very sluggish on race day. As tempting as the immediate gratification of skipping sounds, it doesn’t make me feel my best in the long run.

When you’re in the moment of making the decision of whether or not to complete your workout, think back to previous times you’ve had to make this decision. Have you ever regretted a workout you completed? My guess is that you haven’t. 

On the flip side of that, have you ever been disappointed with yourself for not doing something you said you were going to do? My guess is that, like me, you have. 

It’s beneficial for us to tap back into our past experiences and look for evidence of how it worked out last time. If you don’t have any past experience with this of your own, you can borrow mine. I’ve never regretted a workout, I’m always happier when I do what I said I was going to do, and I bet you’ll feel the same. 

Xoxo

Coach Maggi