Man Down

It looks like this week will be a wash when it comes to exercise.

Last Friday, I helped my dad with some tasks around his house, which included unloading several hundred pounds of tile from his car. That involved me bending and reaching awkwardly into the (huge) trunk, and back seat, of his car to pull very heavy boxes up and out and an odd angle. I have a history of low back trouble, and doing this over and over again was a huge risk. I felt okay the rest of Friday. I went on a 28-mile bike ride on Saturday and, again, felt okay. But I think being bent over on the bike for an hour and 45 minutes on top of all the lifting threw my lower back into a tizzy (a medical term), as I woke up Sunday morning hardly able to move. I've been hitting the ibuprofen and heating pad pretty hard since then, along with my routine of lower back stretches.

So, after an enjoyable week of cycling, I may not be able to ride at all this week. And the weights are obviously off the table, too.

It's no fun feeling like an old codger...

Up On Blocks

A bumper sticker I created for myself. Hey, it's true for me!

Well, despite my high hopes, substituting cycling for running didn't quite agree with my hamstring.

Which means I need to let it rest completely. Which also means no 5k race tomorrow and likely no 5 mile race on April 6th.

Aside from wasting money on entry fees, I'm really not too bummed about the situation. I've gone through this many times, so I'm confident that I'll be "resurrected" as a runner once again. The tricky thing about this particular injury is that it's hard to gauge. One day it'll feel fine, the next I'll feel a tweak while merely walking around the house. I'll err on the side of caution (which I didn't do when the injury first appeared) and let it rest for at least another couple of weeks.

What to do in the meantime...assuming I don't get the urge to swim (and if I do, I'll just consider it a beer or ice cream craving...or both)...

How about weight lifting!

NARCISSISM ALERT

I've bounced back and forth between running and lifting weights numerous times, so my body usually gets back into the "iron groove" relatively quickly when I start hitting the weights pretty seriously...which is what I've done this week.

I'll never be mistaken for the Hulk, but for a scrawny runner, I put on a decent amount of muscle:

After this morning's workout. I vil crush yoo!

So please forgive the narcissistic photos, but when I'm a droopy old man, I can look back and laugh, er, be proud of having a couple of muscle fibers to crow about.

I just wish the hamstring muscle fibers would cooperate!