I have never really been an athlete. In middle school I joined the girl's basketball team and played one game before quitting. I think I lasted a week in track. In high school I was a choir and drama geek; I hated gym class and had to beg my teacher to give me a D so I could graduate. After high school, I sort of got into the solitary activities; biking, running, walking; but never for any extended period of time. I would ride my bike all summer, hike through the mountains, run a few times, walk all over the place - but come winter I would become lazy, sedentary, and chubby. It never failed.
In 1996, I not only started inline skating regularly but I also began mountain biking and weight lifting. I was pretty gung ho about it and got into the best shape I'd ever been in up until that point. But of course, summer gave way to autumn gave way to winter; I went through a divorce and I traded in going to the gym for going to the nightclubs. I've tried to make lifestyle changes off and on since then but have never been able to sustain the changes. I would get bored, I would have some type of life changing event; I would give it up and get sedentary and chubby. I have always envied those 'natural' athletes - you know the ones who can do any type of physical activity and make it look effortless. I always wanted to be one of those people but apparently I didn't want to make the commitment necessary to get there...
This year I turned 40 and decided that THIS would be the year that I made permanent LIFESTYLE changes, instead of going through the same old cycle of lose/gain/lose/gain again. I started off the year carrying around my usual winter blubber in excess of 10 lbs... But it's not just about getting thin or having fun anymore, it's also about being healthy overall, so that I can age more gracefully without being dodged with fun sounding stuff like osteoporosis or heart disease. Of course the year began with the typical false starts until I got mad at myself and got serious around the beginning of May and FINALLY committed. I'm doing fairly well so far; I'm going on 12 weeks of steady workouts, eating better, and getting rid of the goo around my middle. I've gotten pretty gung ho about it, I feel invincible! I want to do everything!! I'm lifting weights 3 days a week, skating 2-3 days a week, and playing softball on Sundays. I have my first inline skating marathon in just 7 days! I've been pushing my body pretty hard - skating hard, upping weight each time I work out: playing softball as hard as I can, so I guess it's only natural that my body decided it was time to remind me that I am NOT 25 anymore...
I subbed a softball game for a team at work this past Thursday, and pulled my quad muscle. I can't even believe it happened because I didn't even care enough about this team to put 100% into playing. I was hobbling around like an old lady all day Friday, I kept my leg iced and elevated and tried not to feel pissed off about it; but I am pissed. I had to skip my Friday leg workout and I had to skip a 30 mile social skate that I was scheduled to skate this morning with members of the Denver inline skate club. My anger is directed solely at myself. It's totally my fault for not warming up properly prior to the game. I know how pulls happen - basically a sudden burst of stress on the muscle (i.e. sprinting from first to second base) can cause micro tears in the muscles if they aren't warmed up first. This hurts like hell and sidelines you. I believe the injury is grade 1 because I'm walking fine today, it just feels a little tight and not nearly as sore.
The good news is that I was planning on using this week as a 'recovery' week anyway since St. Paul is in a week: so no weight training/hard cardio. So now the plan is for 2, maybe 3 short skates and some swimming and yoga; along with a focus on hydration and eating well. I'm going to TRY to sit out softball tomorrow night, I'm hoping we can find someone to sub for me. I'm terrified of hurting the muscle MORE and being healthy for the marathon is just more important to me.
You know, youth truly is wasted on the young. When I was 25 I had no idea of my body's full potential. I never pushed it to see what it was capable of; I was too busy worrying about inconsequential things. Considering what I'm doing now, 15 years later - I'm guessing I could have been pretty bad ass back then...
Skating Stats as of 7/26/11:
Fastest 13.1 Miles - 54:08
Fastest 26.2 Miles - 1:57:07
Total Miles Skated - 814
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