Weekly workouts: Getting to know myself edition

I am a runner. Not in the sense that I run a lot, although I do sometimes. I am a runner in the sense that I am always going. I run face first into my way of eating, my exercise routine, my business. I move fast, I get shit done. No matter what anyone has to say about me, they certainly can’t accuse me of being lazy. I am productive as fuck.

As I mentioned last week, my end-of-Summer cold forced me to be productive about getting well, as opposed to dominating in the blog-o-sphere and the weight room. For many, many days (okay, five) I was forced to go really slow. I slept a lot. I worked minimally. I moved around like a blanket wrapped sloth. GOD, it was annoying.

In my slowness, I got depressed. I have moved from task to task quickly for about four months, rarely taking days off. I have felt AWESOME in the gym and in my personal life. I have felt light, happy, and accomplished, but I can see now that that was somewhat conditional. To watch my good mood come crashing down at the first sign of illness shocked me, and then I realized: who you become when shit kind of sucks is really good insight into who you are.

While I got well, I spent a little time getting to know myself better. I acknowledged that productivity and accomplishment IS great and it IS gratifying, but it does not inherently change who I am, or dissolve the ability to get sad. If I can only be happy when I’m working, well, then I can’t truly be happy. My goal for this week of slow was to build myself up enough to eventually be okay not doing a damn thing. It kind of worked (I’m outta my funk for now and feeling strong again!) but I am well aware that it will be an ongoing process.

Maybe I should block off some “go slow” time in my calendar.

And now the workouts:

Monday: slow walk around Lake Merritt, which is about 5 miles.

Tuesday: another slow stroll around the lake

Wednesday: 5 sets 5 of what I would consider a medium weight deadlift of 135 lbs. This was pretty far from my regular max effort, but holy shit did it tax me.

Thursday: Feeling a little better! Planned to go on a lake walk again, and got inspired so about ½ of it was a run.

Friday: 5 sets of 5 box squats. (This is like a back squat, but at the bottom you sit on a box for a second, thus destroying your momentum and making everything harder). I used 115 pounds.
Then: 15 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of 10 pistols, 10 push ups, and a 100M sandbag run. I used a 20 pound sound bag and got 8 rounds.

Saturday: Major rest day. I had to wake up at 4:30AM to do some work for KeVita, and was just toast by the time I got off at 2:00PM. Lots of napping and eating on Saturday.

Sunday: Kett and I did the workout “DT” together, and it was crushing. DT is 5 rounds for time of 12 deadlifts, 9 hang cleans, and 6 push jerks. I used a 70 lb. bar and it took me 13:35. OW, my dudes. OW.

While I am well aware that this might not seem like a down week for some, it DEFINITELY was for me. I feel much better this week and am excited to get back to my regular routines!