Feeling a Bit Burnt Out

I don't know if its the summer heat, or just lack of giving myself a substantial break, but I am feeling rather burnt out.   Nik, maybe that is I did not update for a full week - my facebook feed is full of people who are always training for a half Ironman, if not a full Ironman, so it seems a bit wussy to be burnt out from doing 5Ks and sprint triathlons.

My body is not encouraging me either because I pinched a nerve in my lower back.  It either happened from not properly getting out of full-camel position, or during my nightly attempts at chin stands.  I was feeling pretty awesome about being able to do a chin stand, but just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.  At least without learning the proper form first.

My yoga teacher used the term "over-compressed" so my chiropractor has since "decompressed" me twice.  But, my low back still feels weird.  However, when I was image Googling chin stands to find a picture, I found a bunch of other poses I want to try so clearly I have not learned my lesson.

So, the solution to feeling burnt out seems rather simple - I should just take a break, right?  But my life is so compartmentalized:  my family time - my work time - and my hobby time (with also is my alone time and my social time).  If I don't have my hobby, I have a void.

But it's not so much that I don't WANT to run, it's that I don't want to HAVE to run.

Recently, my son has been obsessed with my Garmin.  Every day, for a few weeks, he has asked for a "running watch that he can put on his bike."  I finally found a stop watch that could fit his little wrist.  It's not a Garmin, but it has stop and start buttons...the only two features he cares about.

It's not unusual for me to feel this way during this summer.  And although it has been awhile, it is not unusual for me to give my Garmin a break and run just to run.   I am considering temporarily trading watches my son.  My only hesitation is can I trust him to not put my Garmin in the toilet?

The irony in all this is I just agreed to get coached.  This was my first week and I blew off 75% of the workouts.  Even though my mind wants to be motivated, I just cannot fake it.  Or force it.

So, despite the fact I do not want to write this, I declare July a recovery month.  In August, I am doing Hood2Coast and I will end the season with one last triathlon in September.

Even though the heat has made me officially surrender, my kids are handling it better than they were a few weeks ago.  We have been having fun at the pool.

And the movies.

And Hayden discovered that if he wears his hat and his sunglasses, the sun will stay out of his eyes!