You don’t realize how strong you were until you stop

Glacier National Park hike
Random photo from 2016 visit.

 

You don’t realize how strong you were until you stop.

A left shoulder injury two months ago, cause unknown, has eliminated several key upper-body exercises, namely pullups and pushups.

In just 60 days, i can feel the atrophy.

Now, imagine if the atrophy was from two years instead of two months.

Or how about two decades.

One of the million reasons we need to find our motivation to stay strong.

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This website is about our BODY. To read today’s post about our SPIRIT, click here.

 

Drum roll please

hand drawing of lower leg muscles
Hoping my soleus feels like a winner this morning.

 

Will the lower right calf muscle pull (from three days ago) be a non-issue this morning?

Saturday and Sunday were none-issue days, even with a fair amount of walking.

 

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On April Fool’s Day 2009, jeff noel began writing five daily, differently-themed blogs (on five different sites). It was to be a 100-day self-imposed “writer’s bootcamp”, in preparation for writing his first book. He hasn’t missed a single day since.

This website is about our physical health. To easily and safely leave this site to read today’s post on jeff’s spiritual health website, click here.

 

Five things i’ve learned (or re-learned) from this current running fiasco

High School Track
A new pain in left calf yesterday.

 

Five things i’ve learned (or re-learned) from this current running fiasco.

 

1. It’s not about competing.

Although competition is healthy and motivating, at the end of the day all that matters is being able to run pain free.

2. Running’s ups and downs are a metaphor for life.

Planning for things is simply that, a plan. No plan is perfect. We must constantly adjust our course. To get injured six weeks before Nationals and Worlds was unforeseeable. i finished last at last week’s Nationals and may not be able to run in France. Life goes on whether we’re happy or not..

3. The real joy is being healthy enough to run.

The things we take for granted are astonishing and embarrassing. Simply being able to run as a 56 year-old is a huge blessing. To have the motivation. To find the time. To enjoy the highs and push through the lows.

4. Be thankful for injuries and pain.

They are signs. And it can always be worse. Be thankful for both. Feel blessed with your stress. It means you are still alive.

5. Injuries (and disappointment) and how we handle them define us.

Others are constantly watching and judging us. What a priceless opportunity to teach the people we care about.

Heading out for a bicycle ride this morning. Heading to Gold’s Gym to work on core.

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Stay calm and follow the plan

Foot x-ray
Three weeks ago – Doc said, “Keep doing what you’re doing, everything looks great”.

 

You make a plan based on current data and realistic, yet ambitious, goals.

i leave for Nationals tomorrow. Based on yesterday’s ankle pain, competing seems impossible.

i ask myself, “Why don’t you cancel your trip if you are in pain?”

Watching this Olympic video clip makes the answer self-evident.

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