TGIF

Well, the kids made it through the first week of full days at school.   A beautiful sunny day, no tears at school drop off, (my little princess has been missing me) and my Autumn Leaves air freshener in my truck were all great ways to start my day.  My mood changed and envy moved in quickly as I drove past many runners on my usual route.  Yes, today was a great day, but it is what I'd call my perfect running day....Cool morning, sun shining, light breeze, and a touch of fall in the air......

Knowing that this is the 1st of many days, weeks & months that I will not be able to be out pounding the pavement, I knew I needed to do something to change my attitude quickly.  I was heading to the gym anyways, but knew I needed to mix it up today to get out of this funk.....so what do I do...I jump on the ARC trainer.  I hate this machine!  It always feels like I'm working hard and going nowhere!  I like  to see my miles adding up!  Never the case with this machine. Apparently this is another mind game I'm playing with myself these days in addition to hiding my HRM and Garmin so that I'm not tempted to see my distance traveled or calories burned.  My workouts now need to focus on strengthening my quads and hamstrings to prepare me for surgery, not the distance I've run, the calories burned or the pace I'm keeping.  This machine always leaves my legs burning, so I do what I have to do!  After 30 minutes, I've had enough and peek at my distance....1.4 miles!  WTF!  Seriously, I could have walked double that faster with my sneakers tied together!  Again, refocusing myself, I knew my legs were burning so I was on the right track.  Next I headed over to the Upper Body Bike.  Might as well get acquainted with this machine as my arms will be my only source of cardio for at least awhile after surgery.  HOLY MOLY!  I lasted 5 minutes and my arms were on fire!  I stopped there because I had an upper body strength routine planned and I wanted to be able to complete it.  Today in the weight room I did the below workout.

     (3) 12 Bicep Curls
     (3) 12 Tricep Dips
     (3) 12 Shoulder Presses
     (3) 12 Reverse Flys
     (3) 12 Inclined Bench Press
     (3) 12 Lower Back Machine
     (4) 25 Crunches

I am thankful that no one else was in the training room today. Trying to get on the floor mat for abs without being able to bend down or put pressure on your knee can be a bit cumbersome. Honestly, I was even laughing at myself!  Overall I had a good workout and my head is in a better place than before.  My mantra for this journey will be.... "Be a Rockstar Patient."  Apparently, "Go Big or Go Home" got me into this mess!

Happy Friday!