Training and Life Recap: Week 06 July - 12 July 2015

I have been a little bit absent the last couple weeks; there has not been a whole lot going on outside of the usual go to work and workout.  On top of that coming back from injury has made me a little more negative than normal, something I am working desperately to change because that is no way to go about life.  That being said I was relaxing yesterday trying to think of new ways to incorporate more of my journey into this blog, since the purpose of it is to share the journey of where your feet take you and I scrolled through an email from Happy Triathlete who had posted a training and life update and a light bulb popped into my head.  Last week was officially the start of training for the Portland Marathon and the Night of Champions Bikini competition so life will be ramping up. Hence..... :) The first of my weekly Portland Marathon/Night of Champions training and life recap.

Week of 06 July -12 July

First let me tell you I am so glad to be running again, even though it has been a frustrating time coming back from injury; with having to back off, walk home sometimes, and the hardest part SLOW DOWN!

Monday

Mondays tend to be the hardest day for me to get out of bed in the mornings to run.  Thankfully it is summer time and since I was unable to get myself up and at em I knew I would still be able to get my run in after lifting.  So I got a good 5 miles in as I ran home from the gym. It was one of the best runs I had had in a while so I was grateful for it.

Tuesday

Due to waking up with some swelling in my knee I took the morning off and told myself I'd have a good lift in the evening to make up for it.  Well it was just one of those days for me where as the day went on the motivation went sliding down into a big pit.  On top of that the gym was PACKED. I started off with a little bit of stair climbing one to boost my motivation and two to see if the people in the gym would disperse so I could get my leg day in....well no such luck so I ended up climbing stairs for 75 minutes instead. Which I can't complain about because I was pouring sweat (like wring your tee-shirt out sweating) and my legs where on fire. So needless to say I still got a great workout in; one of those where I had to make the best of what my body and the gym were giving me. Wednesday

Had another session of physical therapy this morning as the knife and swelling displaced themselves from the lateral side of my knee just yet. This process has made me feel a lot less tough than I know I really am; I've been one to just push through things, run it out, or as my parents always told me if you aren't bleeding your fine.  But running through the pain in my knee just hasn't been something I've been able to do and I feel like I should be able to mentally get over it.  That is probably the most frustrating part is that my mental strength has taken a beating.  My poor fiance, he deserves a medal or a vacation or something for having put up with my mood the last couple weeks as I try to get past this.  Finished our Wednesday off with a great lift, back day which is always one of my favorites. Thursday

It was a beautiful morning on Thursday, that's one thing I love about summer time is the beautiful mornings.  It is always so peaceful in the mornings and in the summer it is light out and the sun is starting to peak its head up to say hello.  I took a chance and went out for a run, was able to push through 3 miles though it was tough.  Hard for me to even admit that because pushing through 3 miles should be something easy for me. My mom was coming into town the next day so despite me feeling frustrated and like I needed to go lift heavy things I knew I needed to spend some time away from the gym and most importantly I needed to deep clean the house; which coincidentally turned into almost more of a workout than going to the gym would have been.

Friday

Decided to give my knee a rest this morning and grease the wheels on the bike a little bit.  Since I had to cancel all the triathlons on my schedule for the summer due to the injury I have been very lax about getting myself on the bike and/or swimming; yet since biking doesn't seem to bother my knee I figured get myself out there.  It was fantastic!  Much much much slower than I was a year ago but felt really good to do something pain free for a change and it was such a beautiful morning with the some coming up through the trees.  I came back in a much better mood. It is amazing how a good workout can do that for you, just change your perspective and lighten your mood (thank you endorphins and hormones)!

On Friday's I can sometimes sneak out of work about a half hour early which was perfect because it gave Brandon and I a chance to get to the gym quickly before my mom got here.  For some reason I don't remember what lifts I did this week, I think I did chest and arms today.....

Saturday

Well today was the day, the start of all things wedding my bridal shower.  This was why my mom was in town as two of my bridesmaids were putting on a bridal shower for me.  Truth be told I wasn't sure how I felt about it as being the center of attention and also having to be social with other people is never high on my list of things to do.

While my mom and I were at the bridal shower Brandon was going to be golfing in a tournament that started at 1pm so we got up early in order to get a good gym in before the day started.  I had planned to run home but we were experiencing our first rain in quite some time, a very much needed rain as our area has been overly consumed with wild fires, and I avoid running in the rain if I can.  That being said it gave me a little bit longer to put a serious burn into my shoulders!

My bridal shower turned out fantastic, the two ladies putting it on did an amazing job.  It was simple, low key, and fun with finger foods, mimosas, games, and gifts; even this non-social being had a great time.  I am so thankful to have such amazing friends and family, in truth I can't even begin to describe how blessed I am to have each and everyone of them.

Sunday

The morning called for a 6 mile run, however, it turned into a 3 mile run (part of that backing off thing I was talking about) due to a serious burning in my knee, to the point where it would buckle underneath me. (Ignore the time as for some reason my garmin was telling me it was night time instead of morning time)

Since my mom was leaving in the afternoon we decided to all go to the driving range and hit some golf balls, I am still learning and hadn't had a chance to work on the tips I had received at the US Open.  Brandon really is an amazingly patient coach, he's so great at helping me to improve my game, not many people can say that their significant other can teach them how to do something especially golf so I am thankful that we have the kind of relationship where it is possible.

After my mom left Brandon was to meet with his coach for the Night of Champions at 4pm so I went with planning to get a solid back day in, mixed with some bi's and tri's.  Well as seems to be the case lately my body was not having it so I listened and walked on the treadmill while he met with his coach and went in the sauna.

While week one did not totally go as planned, I am learning to take things as they go and listen to my body as well.  I am a little further behind than I would like but making forward progress.  Week two has started with a different mindset, it is time for me to stop being negative and to pull myself out of my funk and get over it.

What have you done to get yourself out of the negative zone?