Celebrate Good Times Come On!!! Tonight I was at the gym early before my session with Trainer so I thought I would "warm up". I did five minutes on the elliptical and then some stretching. Thought I would give the treadmill a try. I did my quickest mile to date. I must say when I realized this was a possibility I cranked the treadmill up and was running pretty fast to come in at the time I wanted. My goal is to shave three minutes off of this by the end of the summer. It's going to require some intense mind over matter, self talking type therapy, but I can do this. It's a state of mind.
I took a week off from the gym. Do you know what an IT band is? I didn't until about six weeks ago. The iliotibial (IT) band is a tough group of fibers that run along the outside of your thigh. Your butt muscles attach to the top and it goes to just below the knee. Mine are really really tight. Because of this, I have low back pain, knee pain, groin pain, and hamstring pain. My massage therapist and chiropractor have been working on them to help loosen things up. My husband has been GREAT about helping me stretch every night. The left side has been far worse than the right side. In addition to stretching there has been lots of ice involved which isn't so bad in the summer.
Last Thursday I met with Trainer and I was in a funk. I'm aspiring to be a school principal. There have been very few jobs open this year. Two within driving distance to be exact. It came down to me and another candidate for one of the positions. I had three incredible interviews. One of those interviews was with eight people. I had them laughing in minutes. I know you are shocked. Anyway, right before my workout I found out I didn't get the job. I'm pretty tough and told myself this was "meant to be" and "God has a different plan". Now let me just tell you...in our workout history, there have been very few times...maybe only one or two to be exact...that I have refused to do what Trainer has told me to do. I have argued and whined, but I don't refuse. I figure he is the expert and if he tells me to do something I better figure it out. Thursday night I found myself refusing to do what he told me at the very beginning of the workout. He figured out a different plan which was very challenging. About half way through the workout I said, "I know why I never refuse to do what you tell me to. If I do, you make everything else way harder." According to him the jumping on and off a running treadmill is something I've done before. I have...I just don't remember doing it when the treadmill was going that fast. He wanted to know what was different and I started to cry and said "I felt like a loser when I walked in here tonight." I made a quick recovery and started jumping rope. I mean I can't have a complete break down on the poor guy. He puts up with enough from me. However, he was very compassionate and encouraging. He has counselor skills. I'm not kidding. My point in sharing this story is that I was not aware of how that defeat was going to affect my performance. I really thought I was okay. And it wasn't even that first thing I refused to do...the whole night I struggled with everything. Working out is not just about going through the motions...you have to have your head in the game. It's a state of mind.
(By the way...I do realize my time will come for administration and I'm really okay now. I just hadn't had time to process the initial disappointment before my workout.)
This summer has started off soooo busy. I'm teaching summer school which I LOVE. (My students know all about Trainer Mike because I have them during the school year and I've come in very sore a couple of times. After a night of doing squats and lunges, one shouldn't try and sit on the floor for a community circle and think one is going to get right back up without a grunt or a groan. Just sayin. I've also had them do math problems regarding my workouts. Now they ask me what I'm eating for lunch and want to know what I had for breakfast to make sure I'm on track. They are soooo cute!) I'm having a difficult time getting started on comps. However, I did get going this weekend. I just have to keep up the momentum. The deal is I've been struggling to get in a groove on anything. I've dreaded going to the gym which is unusual for me. I just can't find time to finish anything. Tonight my running success was just what I needed to get me wanting more. This was a place I needed to find...and now that I have...WATCH OUT!!! I'm in the state of mind.
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