The Emotional Side Of Injury

"Relish the bad training runs.  Without them it's difficult to recognize, much less appreciate, the good ones."  - Pat Teske

Apparently I'm now in full "relishing" mode of my bad training runs and emotionally trying to handle the discouragement that comes alongside injury.  It's not an easy road.  Not for me and not for anyone that's close to me and has to hear me b*tch about the frustration that comes along with it!  The moments of sheer madness when I can't complete a run or when my pace is over a minute slower than it was the same time last year.  It sounds silly to some but if you're an athlete you understand that not being able to perform to your potential is a very hard emotion to "just get over."

Mackenzie Lobby from Runner's World wrote an article (http://www.active.com/running/articles/how-to-cope-with-the-5-stages-of-injury-grief) comparing a running injury to that of mourning and tragedy that happen in other forms in our life.  She wrote how runners go through the same 5 stages of grief when suffering from an injury.

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

I look at my own injury and realize how I've gone through all of these steps.  Some I've spent more time on then others, but at the end of the day I've gone through (and continue to do so) all 5 stages.  After today's run and my sheer frustration when I got home, I realized that there's no point in dwelling in the "poor me" stage of depression.  I've accepted that I'm not where I was or where I want to be but I do know that I will get back to that level and then exceed it, I just need to give it a little time and be smart about everything!  So after my 30 minutes or so of frustration, I realized what I get to focus my time on now while I'm continuing to actively recover from this injury.

1. After a recent trip to Seattle and spending time with my childhood friend Shannon, I found a new passion for rock climbing!  My first time ever and I was going up pretty difficult runs and smiling all the while.  It's a great new found way of stress relief and is definitely a workout!
   
2. Golf!  With numerous charity events looming over me I've had to set some time aside to take lessons and then practice my newfound knowledge out on the course.  This was at a Children's Hospital charity scramble in Seattle where our team won first place for our course!
   
3. When living in a place as beautiful as Colorado, I have friends and family making the trip out to experience this bluebird life we have out here!  Most recently my brother Shaun and his girlfriend Ali came out to Colorado and we found ourselves hiking in Boulder one day and then running the stairs at Red Rocks the next.  
   
   

There are definitely plenty of ways for me to stay active and enjoy my fitness based lifestyle in Colorado without doing the trail runs I was so accustomed to before.  The above 3 are just the first set of examples of how I will find my stress relief and workout fix!  But more importantly than all of that is the one thing I've been able to really notice and appreciate now that I'm less focused on me.

I have two very close friends (Jennie & Pamela) who used to be my workout buddies...who would look to me for encouragement and support and who are now kicking my butt with their running!! While both of them are training for their first ever half marathon, I couldn't be happier and more proud of them!  So during this running down time for me, I'm very excited to cheer them on from across the country while they set out to accomplish one of their goals! 

So while they are finishing up their last few weeks of training, I want to leave both of them (and all of you) with one final thought...

"Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience.  You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head."  - Joe Henderson

Success Can Be Found In Numbers

"Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work."  - Vince Lombardi

It's so amazing to me how in every walk of life we can find such greater success when we work alongside others.  We all like to think we can do things on our own, and to some extent we can.  But when you take a step back and lean on others you realize you are capable of rising above any goal you had originally thought unachievable!  It's in these moments where we find our deepest strengths, our smiles and a new found love for success!

This past week I have been a guinea pig and have given up my normal workout routines to try out a new program.  My friend Cory Skillin has been hard at work creating a workout program that helps people simply move.  It's fun, it's creative, it gets you down on your hands and knees and offers up many moments for a smile.  It's challenging but not to the point where you can't move the next day.  It gives you that feeling of accomplishment and yet has you craving more.  It's filled with movements I used to do as a kid (I mean seriously, when was the last time you did a crab walk?!!), it gets your heart rate up and yet at the same time forces you to slow down a bit and really work on some stabilization, strength training and stretching.  In my opinion it's a very good, well rounded workout that can fit any fitness level or inhibiting schedule (in fact I did this in a hotel room one evening...no excuses).

For everyone that knows me on a personal level you know I'm slow to endorse anything unless I truly believe in it...this program I feel so confidant in that I offered to teach it to a few friends and old coworkers while on a business trip in Virginia last week.  I have to give my friends Mary and Michell all the credit in the world...not only did they get up early to meet me for a 6am workout, but they had to deal with my bubbly little morning personality, which for some can be a lot to handle before a cup of coffee!  In 45 minutes we completed one of Cory's workouts, we all broke a sweat, shared quite a few laughs and had a GREAT time simply MOVING.  

Last night I did a second variation of this workout with Cory and a group of his friends/clients that have all signed up to test out this program as well.  We were outside in a beautiful park and together we represented various ages and fitness levels.  To see the encouragement that each of these participants gave each other was incredible.  They cheered each other on, helped each other out and really pushed each other to achieve their own personal level of success!  They laughed, they sang and they had a GREAT time simply MOVING.  At the end of our 1 hour workout, there were high fives all around and a beautiful sunset for us to all gratefully appreciate.

It's not that we can't workout alone, a lot of us do (myself included at times) but this past week has made me truly realize the additional benefits that come from working out with others.  Cory's program is one that you can do with friends, with colleagues, with your spouse and even with your kids.  It gets you up and moving, gives you a challenging, yet rewarding workout and makes you smile.  You wake up the next morning with a reminder of what you did the day before (haha a few sore muscles) but you remember what fun you had, the bonds you formed with others and the encouragement you both gave and received to reach the next level and you want to jump right back into it.  This is what fitness should be about...FUN mixed with a little hard work and discipline!

I challenge you to try something new...to find your support system who not only encourages you but also celebrates your achievements with you.  And if you are looking for some help with a program, looking to try out this new program I've been doing or have any fitness/wellness related questions, I encourage you to reach out to Cory at Coryskillin@yahoo.com.  It doesn't matter if you are here in Colorado, across the country or halfway around the world...if you're looking to get moving and have fun while doing it, a simple email is the first step down that path of success. 

"As you navigate through the rest of your life, be open to collaboration.  Other people and other people's ideas are often better than your own.  Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life."  - Amy Poehler  

After all, isn't this what life is all about...working hard and then celebrating/enjoying those moments of success?!  

Mixing It Up

"The only way that we can live, is if we grow.  The only way that we can grow is if we change.  The only way that we can change is if we learn.  The only way we can learn is if we are exposed.  And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open.  Do it.  Throw yourself."  - C. Joybell C.

It's amazing how quickly we can all get stuck into a routine and not really be too adventurous on branching out of it.  Be it with work, our personal life, our exercise routine or just everyday life...we get into the rhythm of a routine and that's how we see the world...through our tunnel vision.  Well this past weekend I decided to change up the workout routine that I've been doing for the past few months. To try and challenge myself in new ways and to try and bring some excitement back into my workouts.

On Friday, I drove down to Manitou Springs with my friend Cory to do the incline.  Now it's been months since I have last done this and given the setback from my injury, my level of endurance is nowhere near where it used to be!  About a third of the way up I could already feel my hamstrings becoming increasingly tight and it felt like someone was standing on my chest.  Haha to say it was rough, is a HUGE understatement!  By the time I made it to the top, I was happy of the accomplishment, but was so beyond exhausted!  The good part of doing this and mixing it all up a bit was to enjoy a view such as this...

After Friday's crazy workout, I was able to enjoy an outdoor yoga session in Denver on Saturday morning.  Yet another new turn in the workout schedule that I'm finding is increasingly important to mix back into my workout routine.  Taking 1 hour out of my day to just be grateful and reflect on what was and is going on in my life was a great reminder to slow down a bit.  What was also a great reminder was realizing just how tight and sore my muscles were and how important deep stretching is.

Sunday...the day of "rest" was anything but that!  I woke up early and took my first ever golf lesson.  With a handful of charity golf events looming in the near future, I felt it was time to step up my game a little and learn the proper techniques.  In that one hour, I learned SO much about form that it was unbelievable.  After hitting approximately 200 balls, my session was over but not without me wanting to test out my new found knowledge out on the course.  So 5 hours later, Cory and I made our way back to the golf course to play 9 holes.  I learned a few key things out on the course that afternoon...

1. Golfing at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon is never a good idea...it's too busy!
2. Walking 9 holes and golfing in 90 degree sunny weather in Colorado exhausts you faster than anything else!
3. I need to buy a ball marker...lol nothing says "rookie" like a penny marking your ball on the green!
4. I clearly need to learn how to hit a ball out of a sand trap.  If strokes counted that day, I think I racked up about 4 just trying to get my ball out of the sand!
5. Hip mobility is something I seriously lack...time to start working on that!

It was for sure an eventful weekend...one full of new challenges and now sore muscles that I never knew I had!!  It's great to have a routine and it makes us feel good when we know we can excel at that routine because we do it so often.  But how do you grow if you constantly just do the same thing over and over again?  Growing oneself is about challenging yourself to do things that you might not have once deemed possible.  So get up, get outside and try something new...who knows, you might find something you absolutely love and with a little time, practice and patience....something new to excel at!!