I am freaking out just a little (nowhere near Nicholas Cage crazy, thank God!), mostly because this season has not gone quite as expected so far. I had to delay my training start date by a week due to a terrible, horrible flu-like illness. After that I injured my ankle, and then last week (Friday) got whiplash in a minor fender bender, which made me miss a few days.
~Just to update since my last post, I took 3 consecutive days off to give my neck a chance to heal a little, then went to the chiropractor again Monday, and he said I had all the signs and symptoms of a neck sprain--that's right people, I sprained my freakin neck! This chiropractor happens to be a triathlete himself, so I asked him his opinion on if I could swim, bike and run yet. He said to try it out, and if there is sharp pain at any point, then stop. He also advised that I might need to wait a few more days to swim since it would require a lot of head/neck movement. So off to the gym I went that very day and I spun away on one of the spin class bikes and did some leg strength training. :) Aint nothin gonna keep me down!! ~
I was pleased that I was able to keep up with my training for the most part this past week. Of course I proceeded cautiously and was very tuned in to how my neck was feeling during workouts. What I discovered was that this injury could have some positive effects since it made me run with correct form and posture. I say 'made me' because if I slouched at all or collapsed my form I would get neck pain. With cycling I was most uncomfortable if I tensed up too much, so my neck reminded me to open up my chest a little more and relax. Swimming did prove to be a little challenging, especially since I usually breath unilaterally to the left, but I made more of an effort to work on right side breathing and am actually finally making some improvement! The swim stroke still irritated my left neck and shoulder muscles, but actually I think the worst part of the swim was getting my tight swim suit on and off!
The highlight of this week was the Saturday bike ride. My training buddy and I ventured outside the city to ride on the Panola Mountain and Arabia Mountain Trails, which are part of the PATH system in Georgia (nice paved paths for pedestrians and cyclists to use). We woke up early at the crack of dawn on a Saturday and braved the 45 degree temperature. We basically had the entire trails to ourselves though, so it was well worth it. I don't know why we were so shocked at the amount of hills we had to climb--you'd think names like Panola MOUNTAIN and Arabia MOUNTAIN would have given us a heads up on what to expect! We both did our longest runs of this training plan the night before, and boy were our legs mad at us! By the end of the ride it felt great though...such a sense of accomplishment to conquer those hills, and the last ones were against the wind!
The first sign we saw that we didn't get a photo of said "Water? Sunscreen? Snacks? Entering Remote Location". At least it didn't say "Mace? Pistol? Emergency Flare Gun?" That would have made me more nervous.
So, yes, I am nervous and freaking out a little that the first race of the season is rapidly approaching; however, I think that this week I have proven to myself that I can overcome obstacles and push myself beyond what I thought possible! I also discovered a great way to relieve stress this weekend. Did you know Saturday was International Pillow Fight Day? Below are some pillow fight shots I took in Freedom Park, Atlanta, GA.
Hope you had a great weekend! Enjoy your week :)
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