Slacking, and It Shows

Happy Six Month Surgery Anniversary to Me!

I had a dream last night I was running down the hall of a middle school. It was a lovely dream, and the middle school had soft, squishy carpeting that for some reason made it easy for me to run on it. I wasn't running very fast. It was like I was running in slow-ish motion, but I was running nonetheless.

This morning, I had my physical therapy appointment with Evan. I've been alternating my appointments with him and Jason, so I don't see Evan as much as I used to. He does know that I want to run, though.

What happens when I slack on my PT exercises? I've kind of wondered what would happen. People don't talk about the consequences of slacking, they say "Just do it!" Will I get worse, stay the same or will I get a little bit better just because I am walking around and such? At what point can I start to taper and still be normal? I look at Armando, my professional athlete friend. He works his butt off everyday for hours. I see him running on the treadmill.

"That's great!" I said, sincerely happy for him.

He smiled, "Yes, I have been sprinting." I don't need to be in Armando shape. I just need to be in good enough shape for a forty-seven year old American woman. Maybe that is too low of a bar. Heck, I am not asking to be like a middle-aged New Yorker or a Los Angelina. Maybe a forty-seven year old European or Canadian woman who lives in a big city. I'll be happy to pass for a Vancouver-ite or Parisian.

Today, Evan seemed "perplexed" which means he knew I was slacking on my weight lifting. "Your hamstrings are fine. Your calves are fine. Everything is fine except your quad strength," he said. "For the next few weeks, we are going only focus on quad strength."

I was busted.

Here is what happened. I can explain this now because Evan is getting married in a week and he is probably too busy running errands and doing wedding busy work to read my blog. Good for Evan that he has better things to do. (Meant sincerely, not sarcastically.)

The last time I was at the gym and lifted weights was August 4. Maybe. I might have skipped that day and my last day might have been August 3. We left for France on August 5 and got back on August 16, and I haven't been to the gym since then. I was super active on the trip, and at home I do my regular exercises (most of the time). The main issue is I have been riding my road bike instead of the stationary bike. The road bike is harder and I am more tired after riding the equivalent amount of time of the stationary bike. When I ride the stationary bike for forty-five minutes, I feel jolly afterwards. Bored, perhaps, but in a good mood. I feel bone tired after I ride the road bike for the same amount of time. I wonder if I need more vitamins, more protein, more sleep, more electrolytes or less sugar. I am so tired I question my existence. Maybe I need to start drinking coffee.

The advantage of the stationary bike is that it is at the gym, and the weigh lifting machines are at the gym. If I am not at the gym, then I am not lifting weights. If I am not lifting weights, I am not building quad strength. I am getting in better shape, building endurance, flexibility, balance and so forth, but Evan says I need "simple, stupid strength."

To answer my previous question, yes, I need to keep up, and yes, my PT team can tell when I slack, even when it was in one area. It wasn't like I quit entirely. I was still biking and doing my crab walks. But they can tell.