Who Knew?!

Yesterday’s training session with Jeff was filled with all kinds of who knews.

Three sets of movements that included 10 real push-ups. Not modified. Not inclined push-ups against the bench. Real push-ups. 10 of them. Three times. There was a time when I could barely get through one. Yesterday, I was doing them right after some lat pull work, weighted shrugs and alternating bicep curls so that’s a LOT of work with the triceps.

Speaking of triceps…who knew I had something there…I see the formation of triceps when I do reverse or wide grip lat pull work but it wasn’t until yesterday that I could feel and see it all at the the same time. Jeff had instructed me to do some single tricep kickbacks and after doing a bunch of them, he told me to look in the mirror and see what was going on. I could see it! Then, he had me pull up the sleeve on my shirt all the way up to my shoulder so I could really see the effects and that was a really ‘who knew?!’

As we moved along in the workout, we talked about where I am at today and how far I have come. Push-ups aside and being able to handle what Jeff’s plan is for each training session, I am truly in a place where I still question if I can really meet the challenge but see that I want to try. There is a drive in me that had been missing for far too long. Life had gotten in the way. My health got in the way at times. My self-confidence most definitely served as a roadblock. It took me years to figure out how to eat, what to eat and what not to eat. I don’t know what it was that made me go from doubtful to determined but that switch was life altering. I love where I am at today. I love being in control of my ‘diet’ and not letting myself be controlled by a number on the scale. I love being able to decide what I am going to do activity wise and knowing when it might be too much or not enough. This has taken me years to be in this place where I am at. I’m not always perfect and I still make mistakes but I am learning from them and I am growing from them and with that, I can say ‘who knew?!’

Running In My 50’s

That is one of the hashtags I have started including in my Instagram posts when I share a run. I’m not all that sure that anyone in that Instagram group actually sees my posts or thinks much of them but I figured such a group is one that I would be interested in following and would ultimately be inspired by the posts of other runners in my age range.

That hashtag kind of sums me up since I am a few days past my 57th birthday. I‘ve been getting all kinds of ads in between my jigsaw puzzles and Solitaire games that offer me a link to a chair yoga workout or a link to follow a fellow 57 year old doing an indoor walking workout. While I think it’s great that the powers that be inside my IPad are thinking of my well being, I feel a little mixed about the whole AI thing trying to woo me with more workout resources. I used to get ads for quick baking tricks and now, I am getting ads offering me a beginner level class.

Not that I want to get bombarded with more ads but if I am going to get wooed by AI, I want to see some ads for running clothes for my 57 year old body that don’t try to make me look like I’m 17 and how about some ads for running podcasts that I haven’t heard of?! Then again…I’d better be careful not to think out loud lest I get an influx of ads for a senior discount on the Jerusalem Marathon entry forms.

Goals In Place

My birthday has passed and my goals have been shared, both here and in a lengthier discussion with Jeff this past Wednesday. We tried to put them in some kind of order, in terms of prioritizing what is most important to me and what is more short term versus what is more long term.

We first chatted about my weight. I know we aren’t supposed to be focused on the number but I have reached a place where I am focused and active while doing my own thing — spinning twice a week, running two or three times a week and training twice a week — and I have been extremely happy with that. The weight came off over time and I am a little wary…like if I blink, I will be five pounds up because come on…I haven’t been this weight in a good eight years. I do worry about maintaining it but at the same time, I am seeing that my body is embracing this active version of me and it’s saying ‘so far, so good.’ I don’t know how to explain it…there is an inner voice saying that it seems too good to be true but I am seeing the path ahead…that if I keep doing what I am doing, I will see that target goal weight range Jeff has been talking about.

For a while now, I have been doing my own thing. I haven’t really followed any kind of workout calendar and I haven’t really had anything to train for. With my new goal of running the Jerusalem Marathon 10k in late March, I have something new to work on and I am really excited. Besides the fact that Jeff thinks I can reach what he feels is an attainable AND maintainable weight goal, I am really looking forward to changing things up and work more on my distance and endurance. I’m not looking to run the 10k in a certain time but I do feel that with the proper training to prepare myself physically and mentally for the race, I can accomplish that goal of running the course in its entirety.

Some of my other goals are things are things we are already working on — focusing more on my core strength (although Jeff thinks I’m pretty good with that) and working on my hip mobility. I am going to invest in some yoga blocks to help me with that whole ‘sitting up, cross legged’ as I really feel that I need to work on my flexibility. I’m ready to hit the trails with Jeff when time allows us both to revisit some of the routes we have taken and enjoyed. I’m all set…let’s get after it!

Goals for 57

’I forgot to ask you about your goals for 57…’

57. That is how old I am going to be later this week. I don’t really feel 57 and I don’t really feel 56…it’s truly a number but as I approach my birthday, it’s that time of year to come up with some goals. Over the years, I have had goals that were more about getting to a certain number on the scale or racing for a certain finish time. Some goals were met successfully and others are yet to be accomplished and crossed off. I have learned over time to not think so much about a number but to consider a goal as something I can reach for and hold onto. I’m back to wearing clothes I haven’t worn in eight or nine years. I am able to hold a plank (if I really want to…but I don’t) for three minutes.

When I think now about what goals I want as I celebrate another year, I think more about what is it that I want to do…what I want to work on. I still want to do a 8-10k trail run with Jeff so let’s put that on the list. My weight has gone down to a number on the scale that I hadn’t seen in eight or nine years and Jeff and I talk about a magic number that is six pounds away from where I am today so there’s that. I want to run the Jerusalem Marathon 10k this coming spring and when I say run, I mean run the entire course….hills and all. There is a no time goal…I just want to be able to run the entire 6.2 miles without walking or stopping to take a break. How I will do that, will take some training and a lot of effort but I am up for the challenge. I want to work on my flexibility and improving that to the point where I can sit up for a stretching or yoga workout and have my knees be able to cross and touch the floor. I want to work on strengthening my core because I focus so much on my lower body with spinning and running and I prefer strength training with a focus on the upper body and so the abdominal/core area gets a little left out. I actually like it when we do a whole lot of vertical crunches and reverse crunches and v ups and butt lifts…so much more than the planks and the plank push ups.

So there you have it. I am still thinking about what else I want, goal wise but this is a pretty good start.

The Shirt Fits!

This morning, I went out for a run. Nothing too out of the ordinary…I am, after all, trying to run outside more and enjoy the weather and surroundings as much as I can.

What was pretty noteworthy about this run was I was wearing a t-shirt from a Towpath race I ran in 2019. I had placed first in my age group at that three mile race and while I didn’t get an official prize for my efforts, I always looked at that shirt of something of a special keepsake. A keepsake that hung in my closet and got worn maybe once or twice in the months after that race but then didn’t seem to fit as my body composition fluctuated, along with my weight.

I’m not sure what actually possessed me to choose that shirt when I put out my running outfit last night. I had no idea if it would fit me the right way but I didn’t put it back on the hanger and opt for something looser or baggier as I tend to do. Something pointed me towards that shirt and lo and behold, I put it on this morning and it fit! It carried me through four miles of running this morning and when I finished the run and looked at the date on that shirt, I remembered that April day where I ran my fasted three miles ever. I may not be as speedy as I was six years ago but I still have that want…that drive to be my best self.

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop

My son got married last night and I came home from the wedding at 2:30 am, barely able to walk. I had danced up a storm and even did a few squat moves with my daughter’s friends and I knew today would be a recovery day. I would walk just to get some steps in but I wouldn’t push things.

I was up after maybe four hours of sleep and I headed out for a walk. I did one of the big hills in our neighborhood and kept a nice pace throughout, while also enjoying everything around me. I hit 3.2 miles by the time I came back to our place but I felt like I wasn’t done for the day. I looked up some easier runs on the peloton app and used the filter to find a 30 minute advanced beginner run with one of my favorite instructors, Olivia.

This run turned out to be just what I needed. There were some running drills where the range was pretty high and intense and I kept up with them for as much as I could. It pushed me but it didn’t deplete me and I can certainly move better now than I did last night! A friend of mine had cautioned me over the weekend to do absolutely nothing today…not even walking…but I couldn’t do that. I listened to my body and it was telling me that it was okay to push a little and that push was just right. I took things easier over the weekend, choosing walking as my way of movement and now I am right at it with the goal to keep on going.

Embracing My Inner Athlete

The new and improved title of my upcoming book. Things are moving along…we (myself and the publishing team at Library Tales Publishing) are working on a cover design. We chose the title, which had originally been the name of this blog but it seems that ‘You Want Me To Do What?!’ is a pretty popular title in the online book world and we all wanted to make sure this labor of love of mine will be one of a kind. We considered a bunch of titles — I had liked ‘From Not Me To Why Not?!’ at first – but after thinking about what the true message of this book is, we agreed on Embracing My Inner Athlete.

The title says it all. It’s a memoir. It’s a self-help. It’s (hopefully) an inspirational story. I wanted to share the journey of an everyday wife and mom of five who went from sedentary to Spartans and whose story is filled with the highs and lows that have come with finding her true self and embracing her inner athlete. The path has been anything but smooth but there are lessons learned in knowing that it’s never too late and nothing is truly impossible.

Who Would Have Thought?!

It’s just about a year now since I took up spinning after far too many years away and next week will be just about the time that I took my first spin class at Studio Mati. I had tried out a few classes with different instructors over the course of a week and I enjoyed the range of classes but I found certain classes to be more challenging than others and opted for what I thought as more fun and less intense.

Over this past year, I had a chance to become something of a regular spinner, taking classes two or three times a week.I found myself sitting in those more challenging classes and telling myself I could do my own thing (especially since I couldn’t hear or understand the instructors’ Hebrew commands most of the time). I gradually let go of questioning my ability to handle those more challenging classes and allowed myself to get the most out of the class which I came to enjoy so much. Sure, the instructors were as challenging as when I had first tried them out back in September of 2024 but I came to realize that I could handle things…well, most of them. I still can’t stand up and pedal slowly for more than half a second while keeping my hands off the handle bars in something of a namaste movement. I can’t quite sprint as fast as the lady in the bike to my right or pedal backwards for as fast as the guy on my left. But I show up to each class, excited to be a part of something so energetic and fun and get this — challenging!

Mistaken Identity

Last week, I was finishing my walk and a young woman said hi and started talking to me. She seemed to recognize me but I didn’t have the faintest idea of who she was but I chatted with her as if I knew her. She asked me if I was coming from a run as she’s oftentimes seen me running on our street and I said it’s been a while. I’m not sure if she thought I was someone else and for an hour or so after our conversation, I was still trying to pinpoint who she was. I never was able to figure out if it was mistaken identity on her part but I felt like we were talking about the same thing when it came to running…where do I Iike to run, how far, etc.

And then I spent some time thinking about what I said about it having been a while. It has been a while since I ran outside. Two weeks. I think about that and I wonder why I don’t run outside more. The weather was perfect….70 degrees and sunny. There was so much more to look at as I ran along the main streets and later on, the running path so why have I been opting for running on the treadmill indoors? This is a question I ask myself every time I finish a run outside and I don’t know the answer. I am always so glad that I did the run and I am on such an adrenaline high for a good hour afterwards so why have I been avoiding all of this? I know that it’s quicker and easier to just go to the gym in our building but do I really want quicker and easier?

I ran this morning with a sense of purpose and while it wasn’t one of my speedier runs, it was done with an effort and a drive that I don’t necessarily feel when I am doing a run inside. I started the run with the intention to make the most of it and I finished it, having made the most of it. I say that I needed the run more than it needed me and now that I have done it, I know that I have nothing to fear and no reason to choose the quicker and easier way. So if it really was me that that young woman has seen running through the streets…please know that you will see me back there again really soon.

Appreciating The Little Things

Seeing formation in my knee caps has been a great source of joy and excitement for me over the last several months. It’s not the same thing as seeing a drop of ounces or pounds on the scale or going down a dress size but it is a victory I have celebrated nonetheless.

This morning, I took notice of something and again…it’s not about a number I can see and count but another little victory. My legs are looking…gulp…athletic. There is an actual space between the bottom of my knee cap and the top of my front calf! There is muscle in the back of my calf! The flab that had surrounded and had filled up my kneecaps and basically attached my knees to my legs, is pretty much gone!

It really is a great thing to see the efforts of your hard work and seeing the non-scale victories is just as rewarding as seeing the scale show a lower number or going down a dress size. The number on the scale and the number on the clothes tag can fluctuate at the drop of a hat but the formation of my kneecaps are here to stay!