Day 2: Couch to 5k

"Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength."

-Phil Jackson 

Today I completed my 2nd day with the active couch to 5k app on my I phone. Right now the program is 3 days a week and this week it is 20 mins rotating 1 min jog and 1 1/2 min walk. 

Each time feels a little different of course I have only done 2 days but it's not causing me pain so that it a very good thing. I feel my back at times but very slightly but it's not necessarily bad just something to notice. My stride makes a huge difference of course. I have always been very heavy on my feet so I try to work on landing very light. Technique makes a huge difference and I guarantee my back will tell me if I am doing things right or not. 

“Do not let what you can not do interfere with what you can do.”

-John Wooden

My Journey Toward Recovery

"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward."

- Vernon Law

My Journey Toward Recovery

Seven months ago I ended up with a pretty severe back injury. This injury has given me a huge insight to what it is like to be a patient. Now I haven't had a very good experience but the best experience I have had during my journey has been the support I have received from family, friends, and co-workers. My co-workers have been there for me every step of the way. As an athlete I found out quickly that the push through mentality wasn't going to get me through this one. The only thing I believe that has gotten where I am today almost fully recovered is my determination to find a way no matter what. To find hope when there wasn't any and to have everybody by my side to pick me up when I fell down. I hit some pretty low points but I didn't let myself stay there. Dealing with chronic pain is one of the hardest things I have experienced but it has also made me stronger. My experience has not only made me a better nurse but a stronger person and my life will forever be different because of it. As a patient I realized what is really important and it isn't having all the answers. Even though that would be nice. Its about hope and it's about having someone listen. That's what changes lives. Because sometimes the circumstances themselves can't be changed but supporting each other can. I want to thank everyone that has been there for me because you have forever found a place in my heart and truly changed my life.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

- Theodore Roosevelt

Couch to 5k Day 1

"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward."

- Vernon Law 

Tomorrow January 29th which is the 7 month anniversary of my back injury I will be attempting a couch to 5k with my goal race being March 29th in Birch Bay, WA. This is not a race for speed but toward recovery which means it's a very light jog with possibly some walking. 

http://www.birchbayroadrace.com/info

The key thing to note above is the word attempting. I am not too proud to stop this endeavor if my back isn't happy with it. Now I am coming back from an injury so that makes my situation and attempt a little different. 

I will be using the couch to 5k active app on my i-phone. What I liked about this app was that it encouraged you to listen to your body and if you need to rest then rest and if you need to repeat a week vs. moving forward in the plan then do that. Now of course there are times to push your body and times to listen when to back off. Your job is to distinguish the difference and not just give up because you don't feel like it or because it's hard. It's supposed to be hard. It's getting familiar with injury pain and muscle soreness and knowing the difference. 

My first day is a brisk 5 min walk. Then alternating 1 min jogging and 1 1/2 of walking for a total of 20 mins. 

The training will be 3 days a week. 

Wish me luck! :)

Hmmm...I do see a trend in all my old running pictures of me having coconut water in my hand. Yes I do have a coconut water obsession. 

Back to Gym Day 2

So today was my 2nd day back at the gym since my back injury. My goal is to take it slow but to start testing the waters and start strengthening again. Being strong enough to support your back is very important to preventing re-injury. Of course not overdoing it and listening to your body are also key factors. 

My workout today consisted of:

10 air squats (full depth)

10 modified pull-ups (150lbs)

- Rotating x3 sets

10 strict push-ups x 3 sets

Swimming:

6 laps without legs

6 laps with legs

(Lap meaning down and back in the pool)

This was pretty similar to my first workout but not as modified and felt even better then my first attempt. There was no pain in my back but lots of burning in my lungs. Hmmm....someone must be out of shape. I take each movement very slow while listening to my body to be sure that is a good idea. So far I continue to get more and more surprised. My back just continues to get better and better. I feel so close to being completely normal but not close enough to forget my back isn't what it used to be. I have enough discomfort to make me take full precautions but not enough to even call painful. 

Rebuilding and Reprocessing

Of course it's easy to be happy and continue moving forward when you see results and kinda see the end in site. A place where things are not as unknown. But the only way to get to this point from my experience is to have hope through the worst part of any process. To continue moving one step in front of the other even when you don't want to. Especially when you don't want to. That is usually the point you have to really dig deep and find something. Anything that will get you moving again.

Since I have been getting injections in my back called prolotherapy I can feel the rebuilding. Of course when the body rebuilds the mind does as well. Seems funny huh? When things your life are going the way you want. When things are positive then you are positive. Or at least I can say its much easier to be positive. I went into this therapy with a very small chance that it may help me since nothing else had proven to be effective with my injury. The things that would normally work for someone else didn't work for me. Talk about discouraging. First of all the injury kinda seemed to come out of nowhere and then people just kind eventually washed their hands of me. Kinda like I don't know what's going on with you so I'm out.

Now my pain after 7 months of dealing with some very excruciating pain is very minimal. Its there but it doesn't bother me. Or at least not very often and definitely not like it did. I can deal with this sort of discomfort but I couldn't deal with what I had before. The key is finding a way no matter what. I tried everything throughout my recovery. And when it didn't work. I kept trying. I believe in my heart that is the only reason I am where I am today.

First day back at gym

So today was my first day attempting to go to the gym to do a little strengthening in 7 months. I tend to be one of those people that usually goes too fast I have learned a lot from my injury including the fact that I don't want to be injured and in pain anymore which means yes that I have to be very very careful. 

The whole time at the gym I was kinda having a conversation with myself. Ok so not out loud that would seem rediculous. But after a little work I would feel some discomfort and be like are you ok can I continue then it would go away. Then it would come back and so I just played with it trying to figure out if what I was doing was ok with my back. 

I have no choice recently but to form a sort bond with my body. I really have to listen and feel what is going on so I make sure my next step is the step toward full recovery. 

1st step was the cross trainer. Now I haven't been doing anything like this and even though I went slower then a turtle I am telling you one thing though I could definitely feel my legs after 15 mins. 

Next up was the assisted pull-up machine. Ok so I know I can do regular pull-ups all day long. Well maybe exaggerating a little but you get my point but 2014 is all about smarter not harder so I am starting slow. I set it too 135lbs which is actually almost my body weight but gives me a little extra support along the way. 

Next up was air squats. These may have been the trickiest. I decided after trying a squat to go only to parallel for now. Moving very slow and monitoring how I was feeling I did 3 sets of 10 reps. 

My last movement was push-ups. I decided to start with modified push-ups on my knees. Now this was actually much harder then I expected. Fitness wise I feel pretty out of shape but thinking about it I am hanging in there pretty good after being down for 7 months. 

I am finally starting to see progress. My recovery period is faster and faster and the pain is less and less. It is amazing when the pain decreases you are automatically happier but when the pain is worse you struggle to find peace. Pain is certainitly a challenge. But my determination has gotten me to a place the doctors said I would never be. 

The recovery continues...

Biggest Loser Makeovers

Now normally I don’t get emotional but last night watching the contestants of the biggest losers be so happy with themselves and reunited with their families was amazing! I had tears flowing down my face like a river. Maybe it hits me harder because I know how good that transformation feels and I know that feeling of finally being happy with yourself. Wow, Amazing!

Ok so the first picture is me of course and no I was on the biggest loser last night. But this was where I connected with that feeling. This was the first day of the rest of my life. This was my makeover. Fake eyelashes, someone helped me with my hair and I walked out in a bikini for the first time. Confident and completely happy.

These were just a couple of the amazing transformations last night. Both of these contestants are not just physically strong but mentally strong as well. They have a fire inside and determination to never give up. They believe deep down inside that they can go all the way. Who do you think will win? or will we be surprised?

 

Must see video below on David Brown's Transformation.

http://tv.yahoo.com/video/dramatic-biggest-loser-makeover-0