The Bad-Injuries Are Piling Up
My training and race preparation is still on schedule but I'm getting banged up with only 30 days ago. I have bumps and bruises but 2 body parts are hurting and I'm nervous they won't be ready on race day.
My Left Shoulder
My left shoulder has been a little banged up for a while now. My doctor doesn't think it's arthritis but instead, a nagging injury that I need to stretch and take care of. I am neglectful when it comes to stretching but if I do anything I target my shoulders. The last couple of weeks my shoulder pain has gotten worse. Movement like a dumbbell lateral raise or even grabbing something off the counter sometimes can be the trigger for the pain to flair up.
My solution for now is to work around it. I'm going lighter on the dumbbell shoulder presses and front raises. I have excluded dumbbell lateral raises for at least a week. I've also been stretching my shoulders out during almost every workout. My concern is I'm not going to be able to do obstacles like monkey bars or rings that require me to have my arms over my head.
My Right Calf
In Phase 2 of My Spartan Training I mentioned that I was doing some hill training. Well, I was running up the hill in my backyard and my calf muscle locked up. Specifically, when I pushed off my right foot hard it felt like my upper calf got a charley horse. I stopped training on the hill that day and didn't run. I stretched it out and it feels better but it is still tender there. Yesterday when I was running for 30 minutes I could feel that dull pain there every time I pushed off.
My solution Along with my shoulder I am doing some calf stretches every time I work out. I am also using the massage gun to see if that helps. Other than that I'm not sure there is anything else I can do. Time should take care of it eventually. Tomorrow I'm scheduled to run and I'm not going to let it stop me.
The Good-My Running and Weight Loss
I'm banged up and sore and sometimes it's frustrating but it's not all bad news. There are things that I'm pretty excited about too.
My Running
I wrapped up my Run 5k app a while back and now I'm focusing on building my endurance. I started with a goal of being able to run 30 mins to now trying to run 45 mins by Race Day. I just ran 38 minutes and I'm hoping to bump that 2 mins every week. So the week before the race I'll hit 45. My endurance portion of my Spartan training is full steam ahead.
My Weight loss
My weight loss was at a stalemate until I started using the Macrostax app. In less than 2 months I've lost 10 pounds which I'm beyond happy about. I have been consistently losing weight every week and based on my macros I've really not been eating enough carbohydrates. I eat 3 meals and 3 snacks a day and I never feel hungry except maybe right after I workout. Before I started tracking what I was eating I thought I was pretty good just by eyeballing my portions. I now know I was overestimating the amount of fat I was taking in. Fat calories add up quickly when you eat peanut butter or certain salad dressings. The Macrostax app takes all the thinking out of your fitness equation!
You Take The Good You Take The Bad
The facts of life......(I'm 46 remember). I gotta put out my injury fires and at the same time keep pressing and further my gains. When I'm working out I'm going to be treading lightly when it comes to my shoulder and calf muscles. They both need to heal so I can increase my workload to previous levels. I can't fall too behind the strength training portion of my Spartan training. My cardio I'll be pushing even harder for the next 4 weeks. I'll be shooting for a 40-minute run on Saturday for my long run. The longer runs are also going to contribute to my fat loss goals. Coupling that with the success I'm having with the Macrostax app I'm going to come in lighter each week. It's a balancing act of pushing hard without the wheels coming off. October 21st I want to be peaking!