Time to Get Real – Week of August 26

Another week where challenges decided to crop up.

One of the things I’ve been doing with great regularity is getting out and either walking or running.  I still want to try for running a 5K this year to complete a goal from back in 2010.  So I’m working my way slowly towards the distance.  I’ve done half it and was looking at bumping up the distance yet again.

Then my left hamstring twinged.

Hamstring injuries are most common in athletes doing high intensity work especially when they change directions suddenly.  Think soccer, basketball, football etc.  None of which I’m doing.  It’s strictly straight line work and done at very low speeds.  So why the tweak?

I think I finally figured it out late last week.  For years (and years) now I’ve just routinely done stretching exercises during the course of the day.  Especially those for my lower legs.  It’s almost a nervous habit.  No idea why I started, I just do it.  Until about two weeks ago when for equally unclear reasons I stopped.  Shortly thereafter – twinge.

So I went back to the same simple stretches.  Wonder of wonder my hamstring has been vastly improved.  Lesson learned.

The problem is that the “cure” for a hamstring injury is rest.  Which means that I’ve gotten much less exercise than usual.  Plus I’ve been a bit of a bad boy with the diet (again).

The news on the scale was probably the best I could have hoped for this week.  No change.  Back to stretching, good eating and exercise.  Let’s bump off that next milestone.

Official Weigh In Weight

193.6 pounds