🩸 everything affects everything. This convo is from a @milesmusclesmagic coaching call where I shared that several runs felt oddly heavy and how I was able to stay on course with my training.
I couldn’t figure out what was going on, then a few days later I got my period.🫠 Oh the clarity that comes the day after, it’s glorious!
Nothing was broken, I wasn’t failing, and nothing was wrong. My body was simply doing exactly what bodies do and I’m so gald that I didn’t cut anything short or give myself an out.
🛑 Some days feel harder not because you’re off track, but because there are real variables at play like stress, recovery, hormones, LIFE. That doesn’t mean you ignore how it feels, it just means you don’t panic or assume it’s a reason to stop.
The “secret” that I, along with my MMM athletes, use, is that we’re always working towards something specific, there is always a goal.🎯 And when that is super clear, you get to decide how you relate to those hard days. You can acknowledge that it feels hard AND make an empowered decision to keep going (or not. but we get to decide from a place of power).
From my own experience, tracking how my body feels throughout different phases of my menstrual cycle has been a game changer in managing my running routine. There were days when each run felt unusually heavy and my energy seemed to dip unexpectedly. Initially, I worried I was losing my progress or that my training was off track. But then I realized that these fluctuations weren’t failures; they were my body’s natural responses to hormonal changes and life’s external stresses. Being aware of this allowed me to shift my mindset. Instead of panicking or giving myself excuses to skip workouts, I started acknowledging these tough days as temporary and valid. This mental shift enabled me to make purposeful decisions—sometimes pushing through adjustments and at other times giving myself permission to rest without guilt. Incorporating stress management techniques like meditation and adjusting nutrition during these periods also helped me maintain overall balance. It’s essential to remember that recovery and rest are as crucial as training itself. Ultimately, having clear goals provided me with direction and motivation. Knowing what I’m working toward made it easier to embrace the hard days and keep moving forward with intention and confidence. If you notice your runs feeling increasingly difficult, consider external factors like hormones, stress, and recovery—it could change how you approach your training profoundly.