Getting Out The Door

With my training for all my half marathons and my upcoming 70.3 mile triathlon, I work out 6-7 days a week.  Some weeks I only work out 5 days, but I really try to do 6-7 days.  I try to run 3 days a week (2 short runs in the week and a long run on the weekend), bike 2 days a week (a short ride in the week and a long ride on the weekend) and swim 2 days a week.  And then there's yoga and strength training, which I fit in when I can. I don't beat myself up if I have to miss a workout; sometimes life gets in the way, and being a mom to my two kids always comes first.  Regardless, I really do try to stick to the schedule.

With all my dedication, however, there is something you can hear me say almost every morning to my husband, J:  "I REALLY don't feel like running today"  or "If you think I'm in the mood to bike today you're wrong" or something to that effect.  I mean, my bed is so warm and cozy!  I never want to leave it!  And inevitably I get up and my feet hurt from my plantar fasciitis and my legs are stiff and I don't.want.to.go.

But I do.

from Pinterest/source unknown

And each time, I'm rewarded with a great sweat session.  Some runs are better than others---there are some I slog through--but some are just glorious!  Today was such a run.  I did NOT want to go. I woke up tired and sore from yesterday's 41-mile hilly ass-kicking bike ride.  I had my usual 3 mile run on the docket, but wasn't in the mood.  Reluctantly I got out of bed, stretched my legs, brushed my teeth, and changed into my running clothes.  I told my husband I would try to run 3 miles, but may end up walking it (I've been having some sharp hamstring pain on some runs, and since I have a half marathon this weekend, Rock 'n' Roll San Diego, I don't want to exacerbate it). I also told  him I might not go 3 miles...I'd listen to my body and maybe only do 1 mile.

I leashed up Padfoot, was out the door...and had the most wonderful, pain-free run!  I concentrated on a mid-foot strike, which seems to alleviate my pain, and took it nice and slow.  By the end of mile 1, I was awake, warmed up, and feeling GOOD!  By the end (I extended my 3 miler a bit to make it 3.1 miles, a true 5k) I was beaming, happy, and ready to take on the day.

from Pinterest/source unknown

I am like this with almost every workout I do...I don't want to go, but am SO happy once I get going...and even happier when I get home, all sweaty and flushed with the work of a good run/bike/swim.  When I'm balking at going in the mornings, I need to remember that when I'm done, I'm going to be so happy!

from Pinterest/source unknown

The worst is when I have a long run, bike or swim ahead of me.  Yesterday was the perfect example.  I wanted to do at least 40 miles on the bike, and wanted to try a new route, one that I knew was going to be even hillier than usual, and therefore very tough for me.  I also needed to leave early in the morning, as the ride would take me hours and I wanted to beat the heat as much as possible (I'm a wimp and hate running and biking in the heat).  I dreaded going...but once I was out there I was so happy! It was just me and my bike, in new territory, and I was really pushing my limits. I came home very sore but incredibly exhilarated.

That first step out the door really IS the hardest step.  But once you get out there, you'll be happy you did. I know I always am!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Last night I started my daughter, A, back in dance class. She had been going for about a year or so, then stopped at the beginning of last summer because the dance studio didn't do summer classes, only camp sessions. I meant to wait until she got acclimated in her new school in the fall and then sign her up again, but time just got away from me and I never did. Last week I checked back in with the same studio and found that there was a class that not only seemed appropriate, but fit perfectly in our hectic schedule We audited it last night, and I ended up signing her up.

As I was watching her in the class, I had mixed emotions. She had a hard time with many of the moves, partly because they were new to her but mostly because of her balance disorder. Even though she's 5 1/2, she still can't jump, let alone hop on one foot, skip, or do any of the moves that require her to be in the air. But she tries so darned hard, and adapts the moves to what she CAN do. I've never seen a little girl try harder, nor have so much fun. That made me so proud. I get filled with so much PRIDE when I see her try so hard and do so well!

While I have pride, however, I also get a little sad. It's still hard for me sometimes to see her around other kids her age who are typically developing and see how far behind she is. She has come so amazingly far, yet she still has a long way to go, especially with her gross motor skills. So when I see girls her age pirouetting gracefully around the room, I am proud and happy that she is walking and indeed TWIRLING, albeit a bit clumsily and off-balance...and I get a bit sad and wistful for what we'll never have.

While watching her dance, it occurred to me that A and I are similar in some ways. While she has a hard time keeping up with others in dance class, I have a hard time in yoga. I recently started taking yoga, and am still so tight and inflexible that I need to adapt some of my poses. In my class Monday night, for example, we were doing a leg stretch where we were asked to place our hands as far down our leg as we could (while we were lying on our backs with our legs in the air). I could only place my hand as far down as my knee, but others in the class were grabbing their calfs, their ankles, even their toes.

I'm not in a competition with the other class members, and in fact the teacher always reminds us to listen to our bodies and do what we can do and adapt the rest. I do what I can, and know that with practice I will improve. The same goes for A. She can only do what she can do, and it doesn't matter what the other little girls can do. She is doing her best too. We can only work with what we have---I have tight muscles, she has no semi-circular canals, the part of the inner ear that control balance--but we both have drive, spunk, a sense of fun, and a desire to improve.

Namaste

As I have written on many occasions, I am constantly plagued by injuries. My most bothersome one is plantar fasciitis, although ever since I ran the Silver Strand Half Marathon in November I am bothered by intermittent glute pain (I'm still not sure WHAT it is, whether it's muscle or nerve). Regardless, my plantar fasciitis is much better, although I still have it somewhat. I have tried everything I could think of to ease the pain, from rolling my feet on frozen water bottles, golf balls, specially-nubbed balls, acupuncture, wearing the Strassburg socks to bed, and, most recently, several sessions of ART (active release technique).

While the ART was somewhat helpful (if not the most painful thing I have ever experienced; I cried during most sessions) I did get one piece of valuable insight: that my tight muscles are affecting my feet! I have very tight muscles, from my quads and hamstrings to my calfs and hips, and apparently they are all working together to cause pain in my feet. I've always been inflexible--I've never been able to touch the floor when I bend over, I can only touch the tops of my feet--but I never thought much of it. I guess it's a big problem! They advised stretching the muscles, with the theory that looser, more flexible leg muscles will make for happier, pain-free feet.

With that advice, I decided to try yoga. I have never done yoga before (well, I tried it once, about 15 years ago, and hated it) but know that yoga promotes flexibility, as well as strength and posture. So, three weeks ago, I bit the bullet, bought a yoga mat (I didn't want to use a gross, sweaty one that they provide at the gym) and went to my first class at my gym, a Vinyasa class.

Oh. My. Goodness! I knew that yoga would be hard, but the classes are kicking my behind! Many poses I am able to do fairly easily, but others are too hard for me, as I am too inflexible. Luckily the teacher preaches moderation, to do what I can, and I do my best. I am loving the stretches; they feel sooooo good! And I can see how this will help my strength training. Even though I have strong arms and shoulders--as a triathlete, I swim and lift weights and am pretty toned in that area- holding myself up in Downward Dog gets hard after a while! It's challenging my muscles in new ways.

Today was my third class, and I'm hooked. I truly look forward to going each week, and am trying to figure out my schedule so that I can go more than once a week. I hope that by continuing to do so, my muscles will stretch a bit more and I can run injury-free!

Namaste.