Climbing That Mountain

Sunday, May 31, 2015 · Mike Davis

Good morning! What keeps you on the sidelines? For me it can be anything from an injury, my schedule, my job, motivation and the list of excuses could go on and on… As I have dealt with my latest setback in my torn MCL I have not exactly done all I could do to expedite the healing process. Because our bodies healing process is dependent on the flow of blood and exercising a particular area creates greater blood circulation to the exercised area, thus expediting the healing and recovery. One of the prescribed treatments for me was to ride my bike as often as possible so that the MCL would get better blood circulation and how often do you think I have ridden? Well if you guess pretty much zero, you would be exactly right! Okay I have an excuse; I have to get a broken spoke and if not fixed I could do real damage to the wheel. Now who would want to risk damaging a fairly nice bike? I suppose it is easier to complain about a painful knee than to get my bike to a shop to be fixed. So I am solely depending on my running activities to improve the blood circulation to the affected areas. Next time you see me ask me how my biking is going? Coming up with excuses to stay on the sidelines gets a little easier with each passing day and further from the confidence we had developed from being on the road. Whether an injury, schedule or some other excuse, with each passing day we become less confident that we can run as we did before the excuses begin to mount. Now the reason we are on the sidelines becomes more about being at the foot of the mountain looking up and wondering if I can do it again. It is definitely a whole lot easier to get out the door and on the road if we are confident because we were just on top of the mountain a day or so ago and getting there is not even a question. When we miss a week of running because of our schedule and then another week passes because tomorrow doesn’t seem as perfect as we thought it would be yesterday, that mountain gets taller and taller. Now what was once a doable mountain has become Mount Everest! In many cases reasons or excuses for being on the sidelines are legitimate and often unavoidable. Life can be crazy, challenging and often uncontrollable. Finding time to sleep is even challenging sometimes so getting in a run or a workout is nearly impossible! So I guess it is okay to accept that circumstances can be beyond our control and while we are not always happy with the results; it is what it is. Okay if you are still with me, you know I won’t allow for that mindset. Yes my bike spoke is still broken and yes my knee is progressing much slower than I would like, but I need to stop and give some thought to what is really important to me. Is it the fact that I am committed to running “Reach the Beach” in the fall, or is it that I would like to run and coach a half marathon group for the MT. Washington half marathon? While those are both events I want to run in, they are not why I want to be back on the road at full strength. The fact of the matter is; “I like being on the road” and I like being on the road for extended periods of time. Right now I have little confidence that I could run for more than 50 minutes because of my knee and while the healing process drags that mountain seems to be getting taller and taller. Because of past experience I have no doubt I could labor through a 7 mile run but it would not be fun nor pretty. Thankfully I understand running needs to be a process and often that process requires me to go back to something far less than I once was at and even start all over again if need be. Yes that’s when the mountain looks overwhelming and can even destroy my motivation. However the alternative is hoping that tomorrow will be better when in reality today is usually the best day to start that climb. When healthy running isn’t usually a challenge for me to motivate myself, but my challenge often comes in my strength training. Because I enjoy solo running a great deal I typically don’t think much, just get in my shoes and go. Strength training requires a little more planning and a lot more discipline. My current schedule or knee issues doesn’t make it easy for either Pilates or strength training but with each passing week that mountain gets more and more difficult to attack. Today I am going to plan out my week detail by detail. Here it is: Monday - Strength train at the Center in the morning - Drop my bike off to get spoke fixed - Oatmeal for breakfast - 1 cup of Green Tea - Shake for lunch - Walk the Roy Tuesday - Oatmeal for breakfast - Shake for lunch - 1 cup of Green Tea - 30 minutes of biking - Group run at Runners Alley Wednesday - Strength train at the Center in the morning - Shake for breakfast - 1 Cup of Green Tea - Walk the Roy - 30 minutes of biking - NFLR training group run Thursday - Oatmeal for breakfast - Shake for lunch - 1 cup of Green Tea - 30 minutes of biking - Runners Alley Group run - Walk Roy Friday - Strength train at the Center in the morning - Shake for breakfast - 1 cup of Green Tea - 30 minutes of biking - Walk Roy Saturday - NFLR group run - Shake for breakfast - Visit mother! So that’s my plan for the week! Not sure I will be perfect as it really seems like a big mountain to climb but the goal isn’t to get to the top on Monday but instead get it done Monday and use that to motivate Tuesday. We have many great resources for runners such as group training opportunities. If you want to join in we would love to have you and your commitment financially is minimal ($5 drop-in). Our group runs are varied within the same group so we have some that are running and some that are walk/running. This training group is fantastic for all levels and a great way to start back up the mountain. Another more individual feature that helps with some accountability is our online log. We have an online log that allows us to create a running plan for each client and for them to log in each workout. We also offer this log to anyone that might want to have a little accountability. We set people up with a basic training plan and then they have to log in their activities. We check in to make sure they are doing okay and maintain some accountability. Really a great option! If you are struggling please set up some time to come talk with us. This Wednesday is “National Run Day” and I encourage all you runners to not only run, but find a non-runner and invite them out for a short run. If you want to join us from the “7th Settlement Brewery” in Dover that night, we would love to have you. Thursday night we are moving our Pilates outside! 5:30 Thursday evening we will have “Pilates in the Park.” This should be lots of fun as well as a great way to improve your running. Drop-in fee is still only $10, but rumor has it there are some free coupons floating around (email me if you want one). Time to move along here. Hope you enjoyed the time with me. Have a great week and be sure to ask me about my biking next time instead of my knee! God Bless! Mike