Uphill Battles

Y'all I know I've been a little MIA this week. Trying to stay on top of posting here and keeping up with my Facebook page while on a busy vacation in DC proved more challenging than I expected. Not to mention, there's something about getting sick while on a vacation that requires a TON of walking, that really just saps the energy right out of you!

Since I started my second fitness journey in May, I've hit setback after setback. I've shared some of those struggles with you in an earlier post, but this week has been another one. In 2013, when I decided to lose weight, I got to work and the weight just seemed to fall off. This time, it's like fighting a constant uphill battle. Three steps forward, two steps back. I've been sick more times in the last 4 months, than in the last year! It's ridiculous!! But, just because I keep hitting these walls, doesn't mean I'm giving up!

I got the DC trip started off right with a 2 mile run our first morning while everyone else was sleeping! At 6:30 in the morning, it was already hotter than I can even describe! But I got up, covered myself in sweat, and got it done. Success!! Plus did I mention that I got up at 4am Sunday morning to get a 2 mile run in before we even left for DC?! Things were looking great!

We got started early that morning and were able to squeeze a lot into our day. I'd been battling some pretty intense headaches since we left on Sunday, but didn't think much about them. I mean when the heat index is over 100 and you're out in it all day, I think you can expect to be at least slightly uncomfortable. That first day we made it to the zoo, tackled the metro, the Natural History Museum, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and even saw the White House. We beat a huge storm back for a delicious dinner at Buca di Beppo and then took a drive (in the storm) around DC to see some of the art museums, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, the Capitol Building, and more! It was a busy day. And including my run that morning, my feet covered 15 miles in that awful heat!! 

By the time we got back to the apartment, got showered, and crawled in the bed, we were all wiped out. I didn't feel good when I went to bed that night, but I assumed that none of us did. It was a restless night and by the next morning, I knew I was getting sick. But I also knew, I wasn't going to be the reason we missed out on the fun stuff we had planned. I skipped my morning run for an extra 30ish minutes of rest, but once we were up, we were out the door and pounding the pavement again. That day we managed to see the WWII Memorial, the Vietnam Wall, the American History Museum, National Gallery of Art, the Ford Theatre, Madame Trussard's Wax Museum, grabbed dinner at Chipotle and took the kids to their favorite ice cream shop. All that before it got dark. Then we headed back out for some more sightseeing. Our amazing host drove us out to Georgetown to see the waterfront and pointed out where JFK proposed to Jackie O. We got to see the National Cathedral, the Jefferson Memorial, Iwo Jima, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Our feet had covered 11 miles of ground by the end of the day. By the time we made it back to our beds that night, I felt like I'd been run over. It had been a memorable trip but I was ready to get home!

By the time we got up on our last day, I figured we were all ready to get home. The kids, however, had a different idea. They wanted to make it to the Air & Space Museum. So we got everything packed up and headed back to the Metro. By this point, I felt so bad I honestly did not know how I was going to make it not only to the museum, but in a car for 6 hours on the way home. But, one thing I'm not is a party pooper! I was not about to be the reason we missed out on our next adventure. So we made it to the museum and discovered that Emma is most impressed by the accomplishments of women. She couldn't get enough of Amelia Earhart. We took our final metro ride back and hit our favorite pizza place on our walk back to the apartment. 

Once we got home, I had nothing left. The last two days have been filled with as much rest as possible and while it's slowly getting better, I still don't feel like myself and I definitely haven't had the energy to get a workout in. It's so frustrating y'all. It's hard to be in a place where your motivation is at its peak and your body just won't cooperate. Please know if you're in that place, you're not alone. Every step of this fitness journey has been a fight for me, but I know that when I do reach my goals, every single one of those steps will have been worth the fight. 

So if you're in the middle of an uphill battle, many one of many uphill battles, you can't stop fighting!! Don't give up. Find the little victories. Maybe I was only able to get in one workout while I was in DC, but we walked almost 30 miles in 3 days! That in itself is a workout! You have those victories too, you just have to be willing to look for them. 

So, I know I've been MIA lately, but even though I'm not at 100% yet, I'm back. I'm here to keep pushing you and encouraging you. I hope your week has been awesome so far and I can't wait to see what we can all accomplish together next week. 

It's not too late to join my September Challenge Group!! 

Email me for more details!