Crazily, we now have FIVE people participating in MayBloPoMo- Kae, SHU, Elisabeth, Maria, and of course myself. Is there anyone else I’m missing???
It’s time for Tuesday Topics, a linkup I host with Jenn from Runs With Pugs. This week’s topic: What’s one goal you’re proud of this spring? Often it’s hard for me to stick to the topic, but this time I DO have a current goal I’m proud of, and that’s my focus on strength training. In my dream world, I would just run. I REALLY don’t enjoy lifting weights, but I accept the fact that I have to do it. I’m too old to “just run.” I need weights to keep my bones and muscles healthy… sigh.
Leading up to my race in March, I really prioritized running, which was fine. But I promised myself I would put a real emphasis on strength training once my race was over. And I’m doing it!
I’ve mentioned that I’m doing Caroline Girvan’s Iron Series. It is SO HARD. For me, that is. It’s forcing me to work muscles that were previously neglected. If you’ve been reading for a while, you might remember that a year ago I had a sore hamstring that bothered me for months and months.
How did I fix it? I stopped doing anything that stressed that muscle. That means for almost a year I didn’t do deadlifts, leg curls, lunges, or Bulgarian split squats. My lower body strength training basically consisted of hip stability exercises and squats. It got me to my race, but I knew I was neglecting a lot of muscles.
Now, I’m doing every Iron Series workout with no substitutions. There are a lot of lunges, and OUCH- after not doing them for a year, they are HARD. My hamstring is just fine, but wow, those lunges are making my glutes sore. That’s okay! I obviously need them.
In the spirit of full transparency, I have an ulterior motive here. Leading up to my son’s wedding in July, my husband and I have a project called “Make our bodies great again.” Once that’s over I’ll start doing longer runs and cut back a bit on strength. That’s okay! There’s a season for everything.
Next week’s topic: What does mental wellness mean to you right now?
Link Up With Tuesday Topics
Welcome back to Tuesday Topics, as Jenny, from Runners Fly joins Jenn at Runs With Pugs to co-host this link-up! Please join us every week for a new topic! Write on our weekly prompt or choose your own topic! Make sure to add your post to the link up, link back to your hosts, and comment on the other shared posts!
