Week 3

I just finished the third week of workouts this morning. The first thing I did after working out (following a short visit to the Ragnar offices) was stop by Dr. Christensen's office for an adjustment. He determined, as I suspected, that a lumbar disk had again become misaligned and that my lower back is strained. After pummeling me for a few minutes he pronounced my spine in order, gave me instructions on a few stretching exercises, and prescribed a couple days of rest to give my back a chance to heal.

Of all things, I certainly did not imagine that my lower back would be a problem. It never has been before, but then I have never done so many lunges and squats before either. Dr. Christensen assures me it will heal, and the good news, I think, is that there appears to be no sign of disk injury.

It is hard to measure results incrementally, but a few thoughts emerge from the past week. First, I still get a lift from working out and getting up early. Nothing like starting the day happy.

Second, we are not supposed to get on the scales, but of course I do. The reason for the recommendation is evident. Day to day weight fluctuates considerably. Since I started, there have been two days where there suddenly is a four pound drop. Other days weight bounces around. This morning I was actually up about 2 pounds from yesterday. But the good news is I was able to comfortably fit into pants this morning that I could not get into two weeks ago.

Third, I am getting to know members of our group better, and enjoying them a lot. As with relay participation, there is nothing quite like pushing to physical limits together to bond people.

Fourth, is is pretty obvious which muscles are relatively strong and which are not. A partial inventory:

Shoulders - weak

Lats - strong

Upper abs - not bad

Lower abs - didn't know I had any; not so strong

Quads - strong

Hams - strong

Gluts - incredibly strong

Calves - good enough

Ankles and feet - week

That all said, I have to keep reminding myself to repeat as I get near exhaustion of some muscles: "I am strong." Doing an ab exercise yesterday, I caught myself saying out loud, "My abs are weak." Once I made the catch, I started to repeat in my mind, "I am strong," as I struggled through a few more reps. It did make a difference, demonstrating the importance of a cheering section, even if is is only in you mind. This is a time when schitzophrenia could be helpful; a cheerful imaginary friend might provide quite a lift. Short of that, affirmations and encouragement from trainers definitely helps get through the last difficult reps.

Our trainer Kristin runs the Top of Utah half marathon tomorrow. She looks fit and fast to me, so I am expecting she will post a very good time. When I mentioned the race to her this morning, she told me her mother at age 59 qualified for the Boston Marathon with a qualifying time of 4:06. I would be very happy with that performance.

I am looking forward to some recovery time this weekend and to feeling much stronger next week.