Oh my - What a week!!!!!!!!

Have you ever had a week that seemed so out of your control that you eventually go numb?  That's the week I have recently been the recipient of.  It started last Saturday when Charlie and our youngest son, Casey, along with 2 other guys went on a dirt bike ride in Randle Washington.  Because Charlie has not riden in a number of years I insisted he purchase the best "armor" he could get!  Together we picked out a few hundred dollars worth of pads for his chest, spine, neck, shoulders, elbows, knees, hips,...we would discover that we missed one tiny little spot!  He was excited for the opportunity to spend time on the bike with Casey and I was excited for him.  

They left Saturday morning and planned on being gone for the day.  I decided it was the perfect opportunity to use the time for myself and get caught up on things I have set aside.  After running a few errands I came into the house to a ringing phone, it was Casey.  He was calm, but serious, as he said that I needed to come up to the hospital. Charlie had fallen over on a small tree stump, that we would later discover, hit the very small unprotected spot on his side.  He had 4 broken ribs and a punctured and collapsed lung.  I don't need to say how incredibly scared and sad I was.  They were an hour and half away in a hospital I had never heard of, with injuries I wasn't sure I knew all about.  

The drive to Morton seemed to take forever!  As I entered the emergency room the friendly lady behind the counter told me that there were some papers to sign as Charlie was not able to, I was terrified!  After the papers were complete they took me in to where he was and I feel apart.  He had a tube coming out his side, with oxygen, IV's, heart monitors...  It was obvious we weren't going anywhere soon.  

After 3 days we were sent home to where the bumps, literally and figuratively, got a little bigger.  Watching him be in such pain  was/is hard.  The recliner is the only place he can find comfort to sleep.  So while he's in one room and I'm in the other I have slept, like a baby is in the house, with one ear open for the past week.  I just want him better and though he has made improvements over the course of the week the road to full recovery will take a while. 

My focus up to the point of this accident has been on the Victoria 70.3 Ironman, which was today, Sunday June 3rd.  Though I have had apprehension about the swim it was something I looked forward as it would be with my son, Cameron.  It was a quick realization that this planned event wasn't going to happen and that was okay.  I was disappointed but there was no way I would leave Charlie at home and I was pretty confident he wouldn't be up to the travel or sleeping arrangements.  There are certainly other races on other days and the important thing now is to get my Charlie well.

By Saturday, yesterday, it seemed that it would be okay for me to leave Charlie alone for a little while so I planned on going to an Olympic distance triathlon in Portland on today, Sunday.  My head wasn't really in the game and my body was pretty tired but I felt like it was a good idea to go anyway.  I say it all the time, but our minds are 90% of the battle and have the ability to talk us into and out of whatever it is we might be doing.  Today my head almost lost the game.  

I couldn't sleep the night before because of the "torment" of the pending swim.  Getting up in the morning was harder than I anticipated, the week has left me pretty tired.  But...for whatever reason I got up and went anyway.  The self talk going on in my head during the drive to the race was intense.  My mind saying no and my heart responding with yes, weak as it may have been.  Pulling into the parking lot it took all I had to keep from making a U-turn and going home, but I couldn't let myself do that.  So I registered, set up my transition and then headed down to the water.  I had determined that I would either go completely numb or have a freak out session but, fortunately, neither happened.  

Though it was my fastest swim time for a mile, it still brought me in dead last.  The feeling of being demoralized gave an intense desire to call it a day - which was a hard one to fight.  Knowing that everyone had gotten so far ahead of me on the bike was almost more than I could take, but somehow I geared up and headed out.  I thought that maybe I could catch up to someone, anyone, so I determined on.  3 miles into the race those hopes of catching the slowest of riders were dashed as I was not directed on which way to turn and before I realized it I was 2.5 miles off course - could this day get any more discouraging!

Again, I figured I would just go back, pack up my things and go home.  But oh no, I wouldn't want to take myself out of any of this discomfort, so on I went.  Head winds kept me from a pace that would give any shimmer of hope of being anything but waaaaaaay in the back but I knew that if I was going against a head wind eventually I would go in the opposite direction and it would be at my back - hope!  The ride eventually ending at 26.5 miles, I was only supposed to ride 24 - bonus!

By now I had a complete aversion to the run but again there was not going to be any stopping this crazy experience, so between walking and running I eventually made it across the finish line, not dead last but pretty darn close!  The greeting by the triathlon team I have been training with was overwhelming and I could tell that if I let tears start to flow I would have a hard time turning them off - I was right!

Finally my bike and all my gear were loaded up and I was going home. I was happy to get back to Charlie and call it a day for the books.  But, oh wait - Why would the discouragement and defeat stop here!  In my rearview mirror were some pretty flashing lights, I was being pulled over!  I have never had a ticket in my life but, somehow, this did seem like the perfect day to add one to my portfolio.  As the Sheriff approached my car I could tell I was about to embarrass myself through crying like a baby.  I couldn't get a grip, but fortunately, she was a very kind lady more concerned with my wellbeing than writing a ticket on this already rougher than rough day.  

Reflecting on this whole experience I can confidently say that I know God has a plan.  There is no way to build muscle without pain and my prayer to be a strong Godly women will come through nothing less than a little discomfort.  Growing into a better person is what I believe will happen if I let experiences like this be worked for good by the God who loves me so very much.  

Monday: 

10 minute warm-up

    Upper body, core, and cardio, stretch

  1.      5 rounds:

           5 push ups.

           5 dips
           4 minute row or bike - 1 minute easy, 1 minute fast, 1 minute easy, 1 minute fast

           25 sit-ups

           25' Bear Crawl - Forward and Back

           4 minute row or bike - 1 minute easy, 1 minute fast, 1 minute easy, 1 minute fast

     
          

       Cool down on bike, elipticle, or walk

*7 stretches for runners

Tuesday:

    Run, legs, stretch

        10 minute fast walk to warm up, full body mobility

      

  2 rounds:
        25 walking lunges - chest up and knee to the ground

        800m run

        25 squats - chest up and butt below the crease of your knee

        800m run

        25 mountain climbers

        800m run

        10 burpees

        800m run

         

        10 minute walk to cool down

*. 7 stretches for runners

Wednesday:

45 - 60 minutes of yoga.

Thursday:

    Run

    10 minute warm-up

    

4 mile run

       

*. 7 stretches for runners

Friday:

    Upper body, core, cardio, stretch

    5 minute warm up on walk, bike, row, or eliptical.  Full body mobility

    4 rounds
    5 Bench Press - Use a weight that is challenging while allowing you to complete all 5 reps unbroken.  It is best to have someone spot you on this
    25 scissor kicks
    10 bicep curls - challenging but not so heavy you can't complete all 10 reps unbroken

    30 minute row or bike at a moderate pace

    5 minute cool done on bike rower or eliptical

    Stretch

Saturday:

10 minute warm-up

5-9 mile run

    Stretch