Posting: Challenge Update

I’m a bit late this week in posting to keep up with my six-week challenge goals. Part of that is because I’ve been busy, especially on Friday, and part of it is because I’ve had a really hard time focusing lately. Harder than usual, that is. Flighty brain is flightier. What’s got me so distracted? I suspect it’s the weather. We had a bunch of dreary, awesomely rainy cold days this week and those invariably make me want to hibernate. Some days it was all I could do to stare at my monitor and go “buuuuhhh” until dinner time. On the plus side, it’s cool enough for me to wear my favorite hat, which I’ve been doing. All week long. Even to the gym.

Best hat evar!

At any rate, I figure it’s a good time to update everyone on the challenge progress. So far, all goals have been met.

Strength Training—On track. Three sessions per week, and we have not missed one. We’ve added weight, reps, and even a couple of new exercises, so that program is moving right along.

Deadlifts—Done! I was able to transition to full deadlifts in the second week of the challenge. Deadlifts are awesome and full of RAWR. I’ve been varying the weight since my back freaked out during run intervals last week, but it is moving back up.

Bike Rides—Done! Just passed the 60-mile mark this week, though that last 5 miles was on the stationary bike due to crappy riding conditions. We’ll keep riding as long as the weather allows and then switch to the stationary for the winter.

Blog Posts—On track. One post per week, usually somewhat on a schedule. Sort of. Good thing schedule wasn’t part of the challenge, hurr.

We are now finishing Week 5. This challenge hasn’t been easy, but it hasn’t been quite as hard as I thought it’d be either. My motivation for going to the gym hasn’t wavered because getting stronger feels so good. The endurance stuff is where I get flaily. It has been a lot more painful for me than the strength program: literally, thanks to that stupid old back injury. No more running for me, so we’ll have to find other ways to work on endurance, along with the bike rides.

As difficult as they were in the beginning, though, I’ve come to love those rides. My balance is better, my breathing has improved, and holy flagnog are my legs stronger. A certain peace falls over me when we're riding, especially once we get out of town a ways and are just surrounded by tall grass, sunlight, and wind. Brian says I’ll be pretty fast when I get a lighter bike, and I really look forward to finding out. In the meantime, I’ll keep charging up those big-ass hills in ever higher gears while roaring, “YES, I HAVE QUADS OF STEEL!”

RAWR!