We all have setbacks when it comes to training and staying
in shape. I’ve had more than one of
those this week. It is how we deal with
those hurdles that define us. They will
certainly slow us down but they don’t have to keep us from moving forward. Imagine an Olympic hurdler. I bet the first time they leapt over a
hurdle, they were scared. They probably
didn’t want to catch a leg and fall or maybe they were unsure if they could
jump over it at all. They committed to
doing it. They tried and succeeded. Then they jumped over another one, and
another, and another. Eventually they
were able to jump hurdles at will, almost without breaking stride, and it
become routine for them. To us, it looks
effortless. Hurdles in your life are
much the same. Once you get over one,
they rest become easier. They may not be
fun and they may hurt, emotionally and physically, but you can make it over the
obstacles that life throws at you. Like
the Olympian Hurdler, you can cruise past the barriers in your life without
breaking stride. People will look at you
and think, “That person has it together.”
You can make challenges look effortless.
You just have to try, try again if you fail, and feel success.
I had a full slate of workouts planned for this week, when I
pulled some muscles in my back on Monday morning. I had already committed myself to doing some
birding on Cape Cod and in Rhode Island on Monday, so I stuck with my
plan. After dropping my wife off at the
airport, I continued south to the Cape with our dog. There, in Orleans, I successfully relocated a
bird called a northern wheatear. I
walked up and down Skaket Beach a couple of times to find this bird and was in
a fair bit of pain while doing so. I
turned out to be worth it as I got some decent pictures and this was a life
bird. I took Cooper for a walk on the
beach and got back in the truck, deciding I was going to call it a day and head
home to rest. I turned the seat heat on
and after about 25 miles of driving, I
decided to tough it out and go to Rhode Island to look for another bird. It was somewhat uncomfortable to sit in the
car, but the beach walk hadn’t been bad.
I figured another hike for a bird and the adrenalin of finding it would
be as good for my back and attitude as anything. I was successful again and found the bird, a
wood sandpiper, with little effort. I
got great pictures and shared the experience with a friend of mine from
Massachusetts that happened to be there as well. This wood sandpiper represented only the 5th
record of the species in the lower 48 states.
This is the northern wheatear on Skaket Beach in Orleans, MA
Wood Sandpiper, Marsh Meadows Wildlife Preserve, Jamestown, RI
I had to cancel my morning workout session on Tuesday and my
personal training session on Tuesday night.
My feeling on Tuesday when I woke up was that I was going to be out of
commission for the entire week. I couldn’t
really sit, lie down, or lift anything without my back tensing and hurting. The only thing that seemed to feel OK was
standing up and walking around. I had an
early morning appointment with an oral surgeon and was dreading a long sit in
the waiting room for my consultation.
After an hour and a half, I saw the surgeon and it was determined that I
needed to have a biopsy. Apparently I
had injured my tongue (probably bit it) in the past and the papillae (taste
buds?) had grown back much thicker and had created a tough, round bump on the
back of my tongue. It was most certainly
benign, but was interfering with my normal chewing, etc. and needed to be
removed. The surgeon said it would
likely be painful for a day or two and that I couldn’t exercise for a few days
after the procedure. I thought about my sprained
back and that I was already missing the gym.
I lobbied for a quick scheduling of the biopsy and was able to get the
surgeon to agree to work me in on Thursday.
My rationale was that I may as well do this when I was already in “down
time” from the gym and therefore not miss any more workouts that I had to.
Wednesday morning I awoke to continued back spasms and
cancelled my workouts through Thursday. I
did manage to walk around Salem several times and had over 12,000 steps for the
day.
Thursday morning (this morning) I had to cancel my morning
cardio session and carpool to the gym as I was still very sore when I got out
of bed. I had the “removal/biopsy”
performed at 1PM today and at this time, the numbness is starting to wear off
and I’m experiencing some discomfort. I
anticipate a return to the gym on Saturday morning as my back seems to be
better this afternoon.
The positive thing about my challenges this week, is that I’m
eager to get back to work at the gym. I
have planned for my next work and re-committed to routine. I have adjusted my calorie intake for my
reduced activity and as of this morning, I’ve even lost a pound since
Saturday. It is no fun to be hurt,
sick, or dealing with any of the roadblocks that come your way. But with practice, it is easy to take them in
stride.
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