burnout
So there I was this morning, out on the lake, and suddenly thought, "This is not
fun." I think I've been rowing for a while now out of a feeling of obgliation,
which is both stupid and unpleasant. I don't really need any more obligations in
my life, but somehow quitting rowing would feel as if I were somehow wimping out
of something, a feeling I deeply abhor.
I've come up with some possible options:
- Quit entirely and find a new sport. I don't like things that make me sweat for
a long time, so maybe the gymnastics-for-adults class Hardcore once mentioned or
yoga. The thing about yoga is that I like getting into the positions, but probably
wouldn't like holding them for ages. Also, I've not quite figuring out why yoga
classes have you do things like the gas-relieving posture (I think that's one of
its real names) when you're in a classroom with other people and not really in a
farting-approved environment.
- Take a break from rowing and see if it feels better when I get back to it. I
will sort of do this anyway over the holidays, if I decide to do the Concept II
200000 erg challenge again. I'll need to scale back on rowing just to have enough
time to erg. I'm not convinced, though, that erging furiously is much of a change
from rowing. The one aspect that will help is that I suspect some of my burnout
stems from a hyperactive monkey mind. My best way of clearing it out is readin,
and on an erg I can at least listen to books on tape.
- Reframe rowing, somehow, so it doesn't feel so much like one more damn burden
-- just get out and row lightly instead of training for races maybe, or cut back
so I can sleep in at least one morning a week, or row one day on the weekend so I
can sleep in, since I think my burnout is more from the hectic schedule than the
actual on-water time.
Yet another possibility would be to find another job closer to home, so there
would be more *day* in my day. Right now I leave home at 4:30 AM, row, shower,
work, and get home around 6, and that's a major cause of my burnout. The problems
with that are that I really like this job, and that I would like to stay with this
company for several years, to counteract the effects on my resume of having held
the last three jobs for only 1 - 1.5 years.
Maybe I just need a holiday. Rudder and I are beginning to think we need to just
stay home over Christmas, not even doing the short tripos to Death Valley and Las
Vegas we were considering. We can sleep late, get lots of sorely-needed skin time,
fit our rowing or erging somewhere in the middle of our lovely long free days,
stay up late if we want, and in my case, read and read and read and read.
Posted by dichroic at November 25, 2002 04:59 PM