Gimme a Break

Apparently, I've been overdoing it. Too much exercise (triathlon training), too strict on caloric intake, and too much work. My body is in stress overload, causing bouts of racing heartbeats, holding on to weight, and back muscle spasms. I know, it sounds so enticing you wish it was you, right?

I'm hard on myself. Maybe too hard. I push myself to do more, more, more, and I'm angry when my body doesn't respond the way I want it to. But it has been recommended to me that I try more relaxation techniques and cut back on the training. It's easier said than done. I feel guilty if I'm not doing something (running, biking or swimming) every day. The tri is less than two months away. This will be my fourth triathlon, and last year, I had my personal best time. I want to beat it, but if I can't do that, I want to at least match it. So this past weekend, I only did swimming. But I think I still did too much because my shoulders haven't stopped contracting, despite heat, stretching and massage.

It's difficult to turn off my perfectionist tendencies. I not only want to do it all, I want to do it WELL. My mind has been racing lately with everything I need to do, to the point where I get almost paralyzed, completely overwhelmed. I usually make lists and check things off one by one. But I also still need to work on saying "No." I'm not very good at that.

I'm really looking forward to my vacation. I'm travelling with my fellow singleton, Never Married (NM) to Paris, Amsterdam and London. I'm hoping to connect with other singleton bloggers in Paris and London and will be trying not to think of anyone in particular in Amsterdam. But mostly, it will be blissful to be away from my major stressors here and enjoying the beautiful spring in Europe. It can't come soon enough.