Friday, May 15, 2015

Flexible consistency

Over the last 4 (4?!) years of losing weight, maintaining (mostly), and training for half marathons, I've found that consistency is a key element of success. 

But so is flexibility.

It kinda sounds like consistency and flexibility are two competing ideas. If you're flexible, how can you TRULY be consistent? 

How it works for me in weight loss/maintenance: I have to consistently make good choices. I can no longer consistently eat junk, or eat portion sizes worthy of an Olympic athlete.  Didn't Michael Phelps consume 12,000 calories per day to fuel his grueling training schedule prior to the 2008 Olympics? That was practically me. Only I was training for the couch potato Olympics. Okay maybe it wasn't 12,000 calories a day, but it was definitely way too many and not of any quality, either. And that was consistent. It was my lifestyle. In order to change, I had to be consistent about NOT choosing that lifestyle any longer.

But. I also felt strongly that it was important to allow more flexibility during holidays or special occasions. I needed this flexibility built in to avoid feeling miserable. In order to live life. Because I really love food. And wine, don't forget wine. 

Same with training. Consistency is awesome. But flexibility is sometimes needed. Maybe your body needs that extra rest day. Better to allow for that than to end up injured. Or maybe your schedule/weather/illness make it impossible to squeeze in a scheduled run. Sure, that sucks - but missing a run won't make or break you. You can adjust your schedule to make up for it . Or don't even worry and just focus on how fresh your legs will feel next time. The point is that life happens. And that's okay. It's good. Just work with it! I missed that 9 mile run last weekend - but squeezed it in during the week instead. I'm short one 3-4 mile run instead now, but big whoop. I adjusted and it worked out fine. Coming up, I'll be away for a week. Pretty sure I'll have no time to run. Yep - I may lose a whole week of mileage just 3 weeks before my race. But...I'll adjust and I'll survive. I might complain about it a bit ;-) But in the end, it probably won't make a difference in my race. Because I'm mostly consistent... yet allow flexibility. 

That's the key. Be flexibly consistent! 


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