What happened to September?

I was about to say that I didn’t really have a lot to report from September, but in fact the opposite is true. So many exciting things have happened this month, I just haven’t really been telling people- my weird fear of jinxing things has been getting in the way! So here is an update from this month 😀

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I’m leaving my current job: This was a step I debated for months before deciding to take the plunge. However, exciting things are happening and I can’t wait! More info to come for anyone who cares, but it involves my love of fitness and is a really perfect match!

I stopped tracking my food: I mentioned in my previous post that I became severely underweight this year, so I tracked macros (following IIFYM) in order to put on weight in a controlled manner. Once I stabilised my weight, however, I’ve transitioned to not tracking calories, because TBH it’s a complete ballache. I’m back to Intuitive Eating and whilst it’s difficult, it’s definitely worth it.

I won’t be running my goal half marathon: Sadly my injury hasn’t been getting any better, and my physio told me that under no circumstances should I run that 13.1 miles. It sucks. Nonetheless, I still plan to run a half before the end of year, I just don’t know which one yet.

I entered a marathon: Yeah… That doesn’t really make a lot of sense, does it?! Can’t do a half, might as well do a full? Well, all the London Marathon rejects from my Club decided to do Manchester Marathon together and I thought why the hell not. I wanted to do a Spring marathon, plus it’ll be great to train with a group of other (more experienced) runners for support and motivation. I’m really excited about the challenge!

I am actually enjoying swimming: Weird, I know. I’d sworn it off as basically a means to an end (keeping up my fitness whilst injured) but I’m actually loving it. I got to swim at the Olympic Competition Pool recently with some triathletes from my club, and it was a lot cooler than I expected. So cool.

I am determined to make #gainz: Having realised that muscle imbalance (a wonky bum) was a real contributing factor to my injury, I decided to hit that gym and (finally) make some strength gains. I follow tons of powerlifters and bodybuilders girls on Youtube and really love the idea of putting on a bit of mass. The reality is going to be tricky but I’m determined to not freak out when I see the scale go up. My goal is to make some serious gains before marathon training gets intense and my mileage gets high. Also, #eatingforgainz is so much fun.

I’m really enjoying blogging: Not to be mushy, but I’ve met so many encouraging and supportive people through blogging and Twitter. It’s so motivating to have someone rooting for you, whether that’s something as simple as a Twitter follower checking whether you got up early to go swimming before work. It keeps me going!

What’s been your highlight from September? Any swimmers out there?

Lots of love

Pippa