Learn From It.

Nothing we do is ever a loss if we learn from it.  Injuries, illness, failures and personal victories are all part of living..  But if we learn form them and the events that lead up to them, we can come back smarter and usually stronger.  We are all an experiment of one.  There is no such thing as that elusive "average" person, all of us are unique and different.

We are so different that none of us can be put into a neat little package.  Our bodies don't react the same to exercise, diet or outside influences.  We have unique bodies that are a mix of the three basic types.  Some of us put on muscle easily, others store fat more efficiently and still others have a hard time putting on any kind of weight.  Usually we have bodies that are a challenge for us to work with and we have to keep learning to modify as we go along.

Our victories can teach us as much as our failures but usually the victories come after we have used the lessons those failures taught us.  Most of us learn the hard way through trial and error.  Or we listen to someone else tell us what they do and find out it doesn't quite work the same for us.  Streaking is a prime example of that.  There are those that tell you that if you don't train everyday that you will never reach your full potential.  Well that might work for a gifted few but most of us need to take rest days during the week.

Everyone who makes the decision to train for a sport or just to be healthy needs to keep a log book and keep it current.  It's not long before you will start seeing a pattern if you look back over your own training history.  Had a bad race or no energy during a workout?   Look at the days before and if you have been good with details you can see what lead up to the undesirable effort.  Document how you felt, how much sleep you got, did you warm up properly or did you take the first mile as a warm up.  How many days in a row did you train.  Even keeping track of the different foods you have eaten can be important.  How did you feel at work that day after your workout?

Getting to know yourself is a huge part of wellness.  Learning how your body reacts to what you put it through will help you, not just in your sport but in everything you do.  The more you come to understand yourself the better quality of life you can have.  Getting injured, getting sick or getting stronger and racing better can all be affected by how well we understand our own body.  Having more energy at work, beating those feelings of depression and dealing with stress are all easier when you make educated decisions about your health.

Make a commitment to learn more about that person that looks back at you from mirror.  You will spend the rest of your life with them so you might as well become partners in your health and well being.

Thanks for reading.

Dave