Glancing Back, But Focusing on the Future!

Glancing Back, Focusing Forward!

Well, my 1st race has come and gone and I'm quite happy with my result. To be honest, if I woulda came in dead last I would've been ok with that. Even though I'm a competitor, I'm also a realist! These races are hard, and if a person refuses to quit, keeps going and finishes, that's a winner to me! Every race I've been to, other athletes who have finished have cheered other competitors on who finished well after them, or congratulated those who even beat them.

I wish LIFE could be that way. Instead of cheering each other on or offering moral support through tough times, some of us will secretly hate on others or even try PREVENT them from succeeding. WTF...

I digress. Back to the SPORTS BLOG...lol

Even when I'm out there competing and suffering I try savor the moment because just like everything else in life, those events will become a distant memory, and all you may have left are photos and little momentos of those times. Times that can never be completely duplicated.

I have plenty pics from the race, and now I have my last momento: the Official Finisher's Certificate:



For athletes, the days after a race can be depressing. They don't have anything else to really train for or look forward to. They have all this free time and nothing to do with it. All they have is the memories.

You see that in life as well. People living in the past because they have nothing to look forward to. But the key is to keep giving yourself something strive for and the desire to achieve it.

Remembering your past accomplishments or milestones is great, but at the same time, it's important to have a new adventure on the horizon!

I'm a guy who likes to work out, plain & simple. It's a great stress releiver. Just so happens I discovered triathlons and now I do those. Even if there were no such thing as triathlon, I'd still swim, bike and run on a regular (along with yoga & weight training) because I think they are the best for your overall conditioning. In addition to the conditioning is the cross training aspect. Your workouts won't get boring because you're always doing something different, the chance of injuring yourself from overuse (running for example) is diminished, and you work more muscle groups as a whole.

With that said, it was back to the gym to lift weights yesterday. I haven't lifted weights since i hurt my back over a month ago. I wasn't worried about it, because I'm pain free now, and I have a new weight belt. I had it on under my shirt and had it tighter than corset! I wasn't taking any chances! lol

I have gradually gotten back into working out since the race. The week after I relaxed all week and did a light 45 minute ride on my indoor trainer that Saturday. This past Monday I swam for an hour, Tuesday I lifted weights, and tonight i rode my indoor trainer for an hour. I'm about 90% recovered from the race as i type this.

Before I lifted weights yesterday I checked my measurements. I still monitor these closely:







(In case anybody is wondering, the address listed is fake. Nunya Circle in the address stands for Nunya business! lol)

Since I'm in my early 40's (WOW!) I have to really be aware of my health and make sure everything's working properly! The machine they provide isn't exact, but the numbers are still pretty consistent so I'm OK with them.

I like this gym much better than Sea World. It has a better vibe to me. It's spacious and most people are there to work out, as opposed to the other gym where it seems to be more of a social club than a health club:



My workout last night was pretty lethargic. I felt rusty & kept it at a lower intensity and used less weight than I'd normally use. I'll gradually ease back into my normal weights over the next couple weeks. My routine yesterday was as follows:

10 minutes of warmups: jumping jacks & stretches

abs:
bicycle crunches 40 reps
leg raises 50 reps
regular crunches 50 reps

chest:
dumbell bench presses - 2 sets of 10 @ 80 pounds

shoulders:
seated dumbell lateral raises - 2 sets of 10 @20 pounds

back:
seated cable rows - 2 sets of 10 @ 180 pounds

shoulders:
seated dumbell shoulder presses - 2 sets @ 55 pounds

biceps:
standing barbell curls w/curl bar - 2 sets @ 90 pounds

triceps:
lying dumbell triceps extensions - 2 sets @ 50 pounds

abs (again:)

bicycle crunches 40 reps
leg raises 50 reps
regular crunches 50 reps

My total workout lasted about an hour. It felt good to be back in the gym. I had never hurt my back lifting before and I have to be more careful not to repeat my past mistake. I think I wasn't fully concentrating on what I was doing and that mental lapse cost me weeks of pain & setbacks. Luckily I got past it & I'm better for it.

The plan for the next several weeks is to work out, but not train. There's a big difference between the 2. There are 2 more races I want to do: a sprint triathlon in July and another half ironman in September. I won't really think too much about them right now. I want to give myself a mental break & relax a bit. When the time comes, I will get focused & start hitting it hard again, but right now, I'm thinking about that bar-b-que I'm gonna get with this Memorial Day weekend! lol

Thanks for reading! Till next time, peace!