The Slump

Ah, the dreaded slump. It always seems to creep in for me as I know it does for many others. You work really hard for a while, and then a couple of bad days roll along and you just can’t seem to pull yourself out of it.

A few weeks ago we went on a road trip to Marceline, Missouri. If you don’t know already, I’m a mega-Disney fanatic. Like, think of the biggest Disney fan you know, add an extra pair of mouse ears and some pixie dust, and that’s where I’m at. Marceline, Missouri is the place that Walt Disney always considered his hometown. In fact, he famously stated “More things of importance happened to me in Marceline than have happened to me since or are likely to in the future.” The Walt Disney Hometown Museum is there, as well as the Disney Family Farm and a couple of other notable places that inspired Walt throughout his lifetime.

One of the things about Marceline that makes it special is that it is a very small, rural town. We stayed at a very small motel (one of 2 in the whole town) and you could walk from one end of Main Street USA to the other in a few short minutes. It poured down rain, but we did manage to find a small gym on Main Street and purchased a day pass so that we could get a workout in. BUT – There were only a couple of places to eat: Ma Vic’s Corner Cafe (open only for breakfast and lunch), a small bar with only fried food options, a Mexican restaurant, a gas station, and a Dollar General. My nutrition suffered IMMENSELY.

I ate horribly, and with an 8.5 hour drive each way, I also ate pretty poorly on the drive to and from Marceline as well. It only took the 3 days we were traveling for it to take a huge toll on me. The sodium made me bloated and my extremities began to swell. I also felt horrible.

It was so bad that I just couldn’t get out of the slump. The last few weeks I’ve felt sluggish, and completely unmotivated to workout or even to cook healthy meals. We’ve eaten take out more times than I can count, and I’ve only worked out a couple of times. Last weekend I biked 5 miles and then ran 5 miles with Jon, and I was sore and in pain afterwards, when just a few short weeks ago I ran a 15k (9.3 miles) and felt great. That was also discouraging, and for the last week I haven’t worked out at all.

Thankfully, my weight hasn’t gone up much – only a couple of pounds. Last night I sat down and started thinking about what I need to do to get out of this slump. A seemingly endless slump is what got me to this point, and I can’t let it get the best of me.

Most of the time you hear people say that you should set the bar higher, but in this case I actually think I need to set the bar lower for myself. What I’ve been doing has continuously felt inadequate. If I run 5 miles, I feel like I should be able to run 10. I also compare my fitness level to others a lot, which is a terrible habit that I’m continuously working to break. Jon’s fitness level far exceeds mine, and I beat myself up every time I can’t keep up with him. It leaves me feeling defeated, and then I struggle to see the point in trying.

This week I’m choosing to turn another corner. Although I’m sure my habits will creep back up on me again, I’m determined to identify when they do, and then do whatever I can to avoid falling back into a slump. I am setting myself some small, and attainable goals for this week (no soda, hit my water goal every day, and 20-30 minutes of activity at least 4x), and am going to build on those rather than pushing myself to train for and run a half marathon over the course of a few weeks. This is what is attainable for ME right now, and I am not going to compare my goals to anyone else’s.

I’m grateful for this outlet where I can pour out my thoughts, and share with the experience and support of others. What are some of the most effective ways that you have found for getting out of the dreaded slump? I’d love to hear your tips!