An Uphill Battle

Yesterday I decided to get back on the exercise wagon and see what a few months of mainly idle time has done to me. By idle, I mean with respect to cardio. I've been strength training and doing yoga as a way to try to at least get some form of exercise.

The verdict?

2010 is going to be a serious uphill battle.

For my workout yesterday I did 30 minutes of core, swam for 45 minutes (2100 yards total) and joined an hour long spin class. Yoga was on the itinerary too but I was to full of endorphins after all that to sit in yoga.

While I did make it through the workouts I had nowhere near the power nor the endurance I had at the end of the 2009 season. I've lost a lot; however, this gives me a great opportunity to see the bright side of things: There's a lot I get to work on to get back.

Part of my goal with taking the time off was to have exactly this happen. I've been in pretty decent shape for quite a while and forgot what it was like to be out of shape. I was losing sight of why I was doing all this exercising to begin with. It just became a normal part of my life. The endorphin rush wasn't exciting any more. The workouts started to become major stress factors. It was all becoming too much. That's when I decided to step away for a bit, let my muscles atrophy and my conditioning deteriorate to whatever point a few months would take them. And so now, today, a day after the workout I'm waking up to something that made me laugh for a few minutes this morning. Something I haven't had happen in a very long time.

My shoulders are really sore from the swimming. HAHAHA. Parts of me ache that haven't ached in a very long time.

So, to that end: Mission accomplished. Real training begins January 4 (or 5 because I'll be on a bus on the 4th). The uphill battle is just over the horizon now.