Passion, Not Addiction...NOT ADDICTION

I went back to the doctor yesterday...my knee is getting better, but isn't 100% yet.  I think we did finally find the underlying cause of the whole thing (or at least the thing that is taking the longest to heal up).  Naturally, as with everything about me, it's not a "normal" thing to be injured.  Without going into much detail I'll just say it's the gracilis muscle.   There were other things wrong by the time I finally went to the doctor, and I have no idea which issue came first but this muscle is the last remaining problem area that stands in the way between me and my workouts.

I have to give a shout out to my amazing doctor...Dr Walter Olsen of P3 Chiropractic and Sports Care.  I'll be honest, I never expected to be seeing a chiropractor for any kind of ailment.  However, he has been able to pinpoint the problems with precision (and that's not even what P3 stands for!).  I'll stop gushing before I start or I'll have to change the name of this post!!  Let me just say, I'm a complete believer in Dr Olsen not in chiropractic care in general.  It's like anything else, there are good ones and there are not-so-good ones out there.  He's a great one.

So...yesterday...when I went in.  I was a little down because after riding a whopping eight miles on Saturday and doing a tiny bit of Spinning on Sunday, my knee wasn't feeling as good as I had hoped it would.  I told Dr O how it was feeling and what I was experiencing; he felt around and found the culprit (it was easy to tell from my YOWL of discomfort).  He worked on it a bit (ART, E-Stim and ice massage) and then I had to ask him "the question"....what exercise can I do??

Dr O, being so in touch with an athlete's driven nature, and being the "get them back out there as quickly as possible" kind of doc he is, asked me what my goals are, what races am I looking at and what I am hoping to get out of the rest of this season.  Well...I have a sprint tri in just under two weeks.  But my goal race for this year is Atomic Man at the end of September (since the NOLA swim was cancelled, this will be my first half iron).  I told him I want to be injury free.  Ideally I'll be strong for Atomic Man, but my first goal is to get over this injury so it doesn't continue to hang around.  So, with that in mind he told me it would be best for me to continue not working out for the rest of this week.

Sigh.

As I walked out of his office I realized something very important.  I am not addicted to working out (anymore)!  There was a time when I was told to stop running for a couple of weeks and you'd have thought the doctor told me to cut my arm off.  I didn't do it.  That decision led to a five week hiatus instead.  It was that period of time of no running which led me to swimming and ultimately to triathlon because I couldn't NOT workout.  Right now I can't do anything really that involves my legs because this muscle controls the femur in a bent and straight position.  I could find things to do with my upper body if I needed a "fix" but I don't feel that same frantic desperation I did the last time I was told I couldn't do what I had come to love so much.

It dawned on me at that moment I'm okay even if I'm not working out.  I think there was a time, not too long ago, when (if I were being completely honest) I would have said exercise had become an idol in my life.  I didn't feel like I could/would give it up for anything at all.  This experience has made it clear that is not the case.

I think another huge factor at play is the fact I have NO DOUBTS about some of my abilities at this point.  Knowing I have a sprint tri coming up in just under two weeks, Dr O asked me if I felt like I could go do those distances without any training leading up to it.  I had to say yes.  I probably won't do as well as I would if this had not happened...but maybe, with all the rest, I'll do even better!  (I'm NOT bragging here...it's just where I think I'm at right now.  Swimming 400-500m, biking 18 miles and running a 5K all in one event will not be an issue.  (I can remember the time when doing ONE of those things at a time was a HUGE mountain to climb.)

I also have NO DOUBTS I will not be stopping forever.  There was a time when I would have been afraid that taking a complete break from working out would mean I wouldn't start back again.  But I know that will not happen now.  I know I will workout as soon as I can get out there safely.

I haven't had any kind of exercise in three full weeks, and I'm okay.   Well...I did bike 8 miles...and there was about 100' in there where I peddled fast, but most of it was under  about maybe 12 miles per hour...I didn't sweat/it wasn't a workout....well...I did sweat a little in my Sunday Spin class...but not a lot...

I am NOT addicted.  I could quit if I wanted to.  I just don't want to.  I have to for a time, and I've been able to do that.  Right? 

...are these rationalizations of an addict?

Hi.  My name is Dana.  I am addicted to working out. I haven't had a fix in three weeks...okay, I haven't had a fix in 36 hours since I'm sure legalists would say my little 8 miler and my few minutes of sweat Sunday have to count.  But...it's like an addiction to food, working out is healthy.  It's good for you.  It's beneficial.  And...it shouldn't control one's life.  I think I'm finding that sweet spot of balance.

(Not sure if my sweet husband would agree...)

Thanks for stopping in, come again soon!
:D

Pig Tails

This time last year I was thinking this time this year I would be in Chattanooga doing the Waterfront Tri.  My knee is really happy I didn't sign up.  (It is getting better but it's a process and is taking some time; I rode a whopping EIGHT miles yesterday, iced twice and no swelling today!! :D)

Anyway...the only races I've done consistently year after year are the Cotton Row 10K and the Turkey Chase.  There are some other races I planned to do every year the moment I hit the finish line ("I LOVED THIS RACE!!  I'M GOING TO DO IT EVERY SINGLE YEAR!!!).  In my opinion, an event would do well to have a registration table at the finish line with a discount (but no-refund).  If they worked it right, they could make a lot of money off people like me.

Things change from year to year.  Just look back in this blog to this time two years ago...

• I had my first run after taking FIVE WEEKS off for an injury.
• I took my first trip to the pool (and couldn't swim 25 yards...yes, that was two years ago!)
• I completed my very first trail run with friends!
• I found my glutes! (Although I think I've lost them again.)
• I started running with Turtle.  (Reading this one is funny because she had just started running and was having trouble running a mile solid at about an 11:00 pace....her 5K PR now is 23:52!!!
• and...among other things, I tried yoga for the first time.

Yeah, things change all right.

With that in mind...can you even IMAGINE doing a race like 30 years in a row?????  When I wrote up my race recap from Mach Tenn I told you about a gal who was running just in front of me when I came out of T2.  I knew how old she was by looking at her calf (in tris they mark your age on your calf)...but she certainly didn't have the body of a 51 year old!!  She was wearing a bathing suit with shorts over it and her hair was in braided pig tails.  There was a 50 year old, tall, man running about the same pace.  I decided they both looked very strong so I started pacing off them.

When we all got to the first hill (of many...remember this course was rolling the whole time), Tall Man started walking-obviously watching his heart rate.  I heard Pig Tails and Tall Man exchange some words and I kept following her as we left him behind.   As I got toward the bottom of that first hill, Tall Man passed me and caught up with Pig Tails again.

"Okay...I know how this will work" I thought.  He is going to walk up the hills and catch up on the down (since his heart rate will climb if he runs up the hill, but will stay steady running faster down).  I didn't have my Garmin but it felt to me like Pig Tails pretty much kept a solid pace, and it felt like she (we) were running pretty well.

Close to the turn around point (2 miles) one of my friends, who was ahead of me, yelled at me to stop being a wuss, pick up my pace and pass her already.  That was the kick in the pants I needed to pass Pig Tails and Tall Man....and my friend.  :D

I already told you in my recap what happened after that...

My new target pair were both 40 years old-a man and a woman running together.  We rounded the corner and a volunteer in a wheelchair cheered loudly for us saying, "around the corner and down the hill to the finish!!" 

DOWN THE HILL???!!!  Oh yeah baby, I can do this.  About that time I realized this woman in my age group was another friend of mine.  I yelled out to her that I was coming for her when, from out of no where, Pig Tails FLEW by me yelling, "COME ON!!"

OH YES!!!!  I LOVE IT WHEN I HAVE SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO RACE TO THE FINISH!!  She was a little ahead and we only had about 150-200 to go to the finish. 

My first thought was, "I can't sprint that far...she got me."  In a split second I remembered so many words from Macca's book "I'm Here to Win", coupled with the verse of the day I got this morning in my email ("I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil 4:13)...and my second thought was, "you will NOT beat me across that line" and I took off with ALL I HAD.

I was able to pass her JUST BARELY before we crossed the mat.

Completing an event is fun.  "Racing myself" is great---but RACING a well matched competitor is beyond THRILLING.   It's only happened a few times, but having someone "challenge me" at the finish is just AWESOME.  ((Except when it was THAT TURKEY of a man who beat me in 2010's Turkey Chase...that challenge was completely UNFAIR.))

After the race was over Pig Tails and I talked quite a bit.  She told me it was her 29th consecutive time to do this event!!!!!  Can you even imagine???  Through all life's changes she continued to return year after year.  We talked about how we love to RACE.  Remember my friend who called me a wuss and told me to speed up???  She beat Pig Tails in their division by like SIX SECONDS!!

I can't imagine what I'll be doing in 10 years, but I'm pretty sure I'll still be racing someone to the finish line!

Thanks for a great race, Pig Tails.  And, thank you for stopping in...come again real soon!

:D

Renovating The Walls of Your Mind...Step One: Declutter

If you've been reading this blog long, or if you know me personally, you know my mind pretty much never stops going.  Coach E says I think too much, but really, that's an understatement.  That's like saying there's too much water in the ocean...too much air in the sky...too much sand in the Sahara!!

But I think there's more to it than that.  Here's what I think...I think I not only think "too much" (okay...am I the only one who thinks that's funny?).  I also tend to think the wrong thoughts.  At least I HAVE been.  That is changing.

For a long time I have been slowly renovating my mind.  It's much like the process of remodeling an old house.  I have clutter to be sorted through.  I have old notions that need to be spruced and shined.  And I've had (have) false beliefs that had (have) to be discarded completely. 


Okay...let me just be honest, when I say "I have clutter that needs to be sorted through..." it's not like your average junk drawer, it's more like the hoarders you see on TV.   My mind is overflowing with thoughts

ALL THE TIME

and usually more than one at a time.  I have a hard time keeping things straight and a hard time easily retrieving needed information.

One of the main issues with mind clutter is that it makes it hard to remember workouts.  If I go to the pool and can't remember what I'm supposed to do, sure I can just swim for an hour, but I'm not making the best use of my time.  Also, when my mind is cluttered with all the different theories of nutrition and training out there, I get completely confused.  Do I eat carbs or not?  Do I run easy or hard?  To brick or not to brick?  Strength training should be done when?  Do I stretch before or after working out?  And the list goes on.

You have to be careful when cleaning out the clutter that you don't throw out a signed first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (it was worth a lot of money back in 2006, according to this site) with the manual on the TV you had back in college.  (That sentence will make sense if you see the picture that goes with this post...)  Knowing what to treasure and what to toss is hard for someone who keeps everything that "might be" useful (to someone) one day.  (I mean come on, what if someone has that TV now and needs the manual??)  In training, this is why it's important for you to know yourself better than anyone, so you can make unequivocal decisions regarding workouts, nutrition, equipment, picking out races, etc.  Or you can find a coach you can TRUST who will help navigate you through all the information out there. 

A coach should give you no more than a couple of things to really focus on at a time. These nuggets of wisdom will be different for each athlete.  A far cry from doling out information like words on the page of a book, a coach is working with each athlete in a way which serves the person best (not in the way which best inflates the coach's ego).  It doesn't sound like "look what I can do"/"listen to how I do it"/"let me tell you how to do it the right way".  Instead it starts with something like, "for you the key will be..."  The workouts might all be the same for a group working toward the same race, but the coaching for each person will look different.  One athlete might need a good swift kick in the bike shorts, whereas another might need a gentle hug of reassurance. 

Swimming form doesn't vary....oh, wait, there are actually different philosophies regarding "the best way to swim".  Well, once you've sorted through all that information, and have found one you believe in, how it's learned can vary greatly.  Beyond that, what individual athletes need to focus on branches off even further (one needs to focus on speed, one on relaxing, one on POWER...). 

Before I signed on with the e3 Tribe (note the name change: e3Trivolution.com), I was trying to focus on everything all the time.  I didn't know what I needed to work on, when, or how.  There are MANY philosophies on EVERYTHING.  Sorting through clutter is a crucial step in any remodel job....but it's an on-going process.  Anyone who has been on a construction site knows how clutter can ruin a job. 

I'll bet you want to go clean out your junk drawer now don't you??  :D

Thanks for stopping in, come again soon.  (I still need to write up the post about Pigtails and the Mach Tenn swim....now I can add to the list parts two and three of this post.  So much writing to do, so little time!)

:D