I have made no secret of the fact that I have lost control of my schedule over the last few months.

When I was made redundant at the beginning of the Summer having no schedule felt fantastic. Not having to rely on alarms, joining the rat race round the M25 or being tied down to office hours made me feel so free. I enjoyed the free time; endless hours at garden centres, time spent with friends and family and generally getting through that “to do list” that never gets done.

However, at some point having no schedule becomes frustrating. After three months of fitting job searching in between the glorious time out I found myself loosing the ability to keep motivated, to keep focused. Throw additional factors into the mix, like loosing a family member and I found myself completely lost.

No focus. No drive. No motivation.

I stopped going to classes. I missed races I had planned in. And I started to skip meals.

My short trip to Budapest could not have come at a better time. Taking myself out of the country gave my mind and body time to reset. I did not think about job hunting, about training or even the grief I was feeling in the lead up to the break away.

And now, as we are in the final months of the year with a few races left in the diary for 2017 it is time for me to put the schedule back in place.

This week I started working on this plan. I began getting some running miles under my belt to prepare for tomorrow’s up coming race – Adidas City Run.

I also started a new job, giving me that much needed schedule in the day and giving my mind something new to focus on.

And the goal for next week? Getting back into a training schedule in time for the Herts Half Marathon in just six weeks time.

Life can throw many obstacles in your way that can distract you, that could try to bring you down. I never imagined I would allow my personal situation get in the way of my training, it is usually the one thing I can rely on to deal with stress. However, I am only human. I have to accept the good times and the bad times too.

Now is time to take back that control. Make a plan and stick to it. Shake off the bad times and move forward. To pick myself back up and get ready for the next challenge.

To come back stronger.