Out of the Comfort Zone

Feeling stuck in a rut can be frustrating.  You feel like you're working your butt off, and you've hit this limit...you can't get over the hump.

Maybe it's that you want the scale to drop 5 more lbs. and you just aren't making any more progress.  You're doing the same things...eating right, breaking a good sweat 30 minutes 3-5 times a week, and nothing more is happening.

Maybe you set a goal to run a certain distance, but you feel like you can't run another step if you tried.  Getting past that 3 mile or 6 mile mark seems crazy.

It's the "comfort zone".  I am the queen of Loving my Comfort Zone.  It's such a predictable place.  I never have to worry about what will happen, or how it's going to happen.  It is what it is in my little Comfy Place.

In my Zone, I have a Shakeology shake in the morning.  I add 1 cup of unsweetened coconut milk and 1/4 cup of water with 12 ice cubes.  13 ice cubes, and it won't blend without adding more water.  11 ice cubes and it's too thin.

I have a bowl of cereal and some raisins for lunch.  Cheerios, Rice Squares...I love the Chocloate Cheerios!  Sometimes I have an orange too, or a Nutra Grain Bar...occasionally I'll go for a 6 inch Subway sub...occasionally.

For dinner - oooh, this is the scary part - dinner is NOT comfy.  I struggle with planning out dinner meals.    It's too unpredictable...I need to work on dinner big time.

Working out in my Zone is VERY predictable.  I have a set 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10 mile run that I do without fail.  I rarely branch out and run somewhere different or switch up my route too much.  I love knowing exactly how far I have left to go, and now a days, how much longer I have to get to certain land marks.

It's time to BREAK FREE!!  Yesterday I went my usual 6 mile route.  Not very interesting.  But...I had my best run to date, and I was uncomfortable the entire time!  It was Awesome!

From the get go, out my front door I had decided to push it just a little more than usual.   What did I have to lose?  If all else failed, I could walk, right?  I went for it; starting out much past my comfortable -just get into the groove at the beginning of the run- kind of start.

I remembered the days back in college, swimming hard.  Really hard, and pushing myself to the limit.  I  wanted to see if I still had it in me.  I actually felt a little glimmer of that feeling again.  I loved feeling exhausted and done.  When I hit the end of my run, I was Done, out of breath, my legs were Tired, and it was cool!

Is it necessary to push the limit of comfort for every workout from now on?  NO!  That would wear and tear so fast...but more frequently I plan to just Go For It!  Now that I know that it's possible to run just a little faster for a little longer, it's not such a scary thought.

How do you break free from your comfort zone?  


Is it hard for you to deviate from your normal routine?