What my life is like now: an awesome workout

Hi everyone!

Many of you reach out to ask me how I’m doing now, and what I’m able to do for exercise these days.  So I thought I’d give you a little peek into one of the best workouts I’ve had for a long time.

This was me yesterday, wearing a tank top in 30 degree weather, in December:

This is because I got so freaking hot during my workout that, gradually, I had to remove all the other layers I started out with– two down coats, a sweatshirt, hat, scarf, and gloves.

For a long time, getting that hot and sweaty was out of the question for me.  I’d experienced it when running long-distance in high school, but I never thought I would again.

When I developed SI joint dysfunction, for years I really couldn’t walk at all for exercise– I could barely hobble.  The only real exercise I could get was in a pool.

But, as time went on (and of course, I write about all of this on my blog), things gradually fell into place.  It was a process of trial and error, and not giving up through setbacks.

I had to learn to avoid motions or activities that caused my joints to move out of place, and learn to keep them aligned myself using the Muscle Energy Technique.

And, of course, I had to build up the muscles around the joints, so that they could stabilize everything and make sure I didn’t put too much stress on my sprained ligaments.

Once I finally figured all that out, it was like I had finally found my recipe for success.

It’s not that I never have setbacks… it’s just that, now, when things start to go south, I know exactly what I do to get the setback under control, and keep things moving in the right direction.  So now, a setback can be 3 days… rather than 5 years.

So my workout today was an hour long, at some of my favorite conservation land in my hometown.

For my workout, I wasn’t running, but I was still doing what is known as interval training, where you intersperse bits of high intensity cardio with periods of lower intensity, to rest).

So no, it wasn’t an official “run,” but it was a fantastic workout where I pushed myself, going up a particular section of trail which was steep and also relatively free of tree roots (an important thing to be aware of when you’re recovering from any injury!).  And I listened to my body, and got my heart rate up like crazy.  All in all, it was a fantastic afternoon.

For a moment, it was like I was back in high school, being that crazy person circling around the track, long after everyone else was ready to go home.

And you know what? I was still that crazy person… I can guarantee you I was the only person at that conservation land wearing a tank top :).

So… that’s how you do it.

You find a way that works for you.  You don’t worry about what other people do, you don’t worry about what other people think… you listen to your own body, and you chart a course.