I was snatching in the gym with a girlfriend and chatting, I made mention to "Jay" how much my body has changed in the last few months. I am usually at the peak of fitness in the summer months, thick of thigh, robust arms and usually able to crack a walnut with my abs...however it is September and I cannot crack J-E-L-L-O.
My body looks more like it did in grade 8: sorta toned, but not really. Nothing is wrong with this of course, but I have been used to a body that is more solid than soft and droopy triceps are not the tell tale sign of an elite hurdler.
Of course I'm not exactly as I describe, but being trained to be in tune with every part of my physique I can't help but judge me. It has been a struggle turning this mechanism off, considering I have been working 10 long years to perfect it.
My friend "Jay" an elite weightlifter herself, saw where this chatter was going and quickly cut me off at the pass, before I could move on to the 'tale of sagging bottom'.
In essence what she said is we can be our own worst enemy at times. If we say to friends what we say to our own selves, we wouldn't have any. Take the comments you would say to a friend and tell them to yourself. They are always far more encouraging and positive. Don't get into the trap of being hard on yourself or negative towards your own being.
Damn Plato!
With these words I instantly apologized to my glutes.
But she is so right, could you imagine me telling my best friend, who had an injury and was relegated to the pool to aid in her recovery that: "Eww, Your butt is jiggling--it never used to do that last summer" or "Man you only have a one pack, what happened to the other five, home girl?"
Mean stuff and I'd never say that, of course I'd encourage her. I'd tell her how great she looked, I knew how hard she was working and I couldn't wait till she was back.
Health and Long Term Goals
I can't expect to look like I normally do based on pool and bike workouts, but the protocol I am following is the best program to get me back to peak form and performance. When my team and I sat down in the summer (with Beijing out of the way) we discussed what my goals were, and they assessed how they could help me achieve them. The immediate one was to get me healthy in time to begin regular training in October and to be able to train without interruption or backing off.
They cautioned me to hang in there and be patient, this plan was for quality of the long term. I have made the mistake of coming back from injury too soon and my 2005 and 2006 season were evidence of this. Being older, wiser and a veteran in my sport I'll let softer thighs set in now (temporarily!), if it means being ready for London 2012, and IAAF World Championships in Berlin next summer.
Small Victories
I have learned to enjoy the little victories on the road to recovery and they are small but make me feel absolutely triumphant.
Last night I was able to get rid of the rigid orthotic I had been wearing since April. My doctors wanted me wearing it to support my foot as long as possible. It is custom made from very hard material and difficult to run in freely. I have traded them in for a more flexible insert closer to the ones that I always wore pre-injury.
You should have seen me walk out of the shop with them in my shoes the 30 metres to my car. I was so giddy with the milestone it was like I was moon walking on cloud 9!
I wanted to yell to everyone in the plaza parking lot: "Look at my feets people!! Bet'cha never seen Nikes with inserts like these!".
One small step forward but a big leap of triumph for me!
Be back soon,
Perdi
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