Back again.
RxBarbie’s back.
Tell a friend.
It's been a minute!
Actually 116 days since the NYC Marathon when I decided to take a break. I had so much fomo watching everyone's stories for runDisney’s princess weekend and I really do miss it. I have no fomo anymore when I see cosplays and cons but for runDisney, I got really sad about missing out on this year’s princess races. I went for my first run in a while yesterday and it felt really good! I started with a 5 minute warmup walk, ran up to a 5k distance and finished with a 3 minute cooldown. It wasn’t my fastest pace since I wanted to take it easy on my first one back, but it felt really good.
I’m thinking of going to a running store later this week to get evaluated and fitted for new running shoes. I want to get back into running but safely this time around. I’m going back in with experience. I want to be better about proper stretching, warming up, more experimentation til I get the proper fueling right, hydrating, and not overdoing it. I also want to try different training techniques like tempo runs, fartleks, repeats, etc. I want to train WITH INTENTION this time around. I want to get back into regularly running at least twice a week, and then hopefully start a training schedule in a few months to prep for the Halloween race challenge. I also want to figure out a nice balance for all my workouts. I need to figure out how to get my pilates in, while still getting in my lifts and still have time for my runs. And at the same time, trying to keep it as low impact as possible, to not only reduce injury, but work on maintaining my cortisol levels. It’s a lot but I remember I was somehow able to do all this once upon a time when my health was at its best, so I want to get back to it. I do have to prioritize my sleep more and get to bed earlier so I really do need to work on that as well. My biggest challenge is still forcing myself to take a rest day. Even if I do “rest,” I still try to at least walk and get in at least 10,000 steps, so I never really truly rest.
I’ve been making changes since the new year, not because of new year, new me resolutions, but as part of an action plan I set with my doctor to try and get my numbers down and back to normal limits, so I’m hoping all this helps. So far, last week, my bloodwork came back with my cortisol finally normal again, so fingers crossed in a few months when I see my doctor again, everything else will fall in place. I’m still eating the same as I always do, high protein and low carb, and not a lot of processed foods. I’m not eating a restricted diet this time though. I’m trying to eat intuitively. As much as I would love to maintain a certain aesthetic and body type, at the end of the day, I would rather enjoy the foods I eat and the life I live. I’m trying to live a life of balance.
So here’s to this next chapter in my fitness journey because it truly is a journey and a learning experience every step of the way. You are never truly done working on yourself.