First off, new cycle. Day 1 is North Dakota! I am trying something a little different today, it may be a complete bust and I will know for sure by 11 am (that session is full and diverse so I will know quickly if there is enough equipment). If it is, the workout will be tweaked next time you see it. We are only using sandbags and kettlebells, that is all. All the exercises. Squatting will be the big thing. I had this idea for two reasons, one I wanted to find a faster set up that could be moved around to other locations if it goes well. This could also mean only using the truck, setting up in completely different places like Kreher Preserve, more options. I wanted to explore the idea. I also wasn't sure I would be able to coach today so a lot of set up was going to be very difficult. This brings me to my next thing.
You will see me moving a bit slowly. I will probably be able to demo very little. I can now at least walk at a slow pace, which is a vast improvement. One of my 2021 goals involved getting fast again. The feeling of getting slow isn't fun. Let me back track a little...
When I was 31, I was looking to start competing in Track and Field. I was running at the local track quite a bit, training well, performing well. I was also looking to pick soccer back up, had been invited to join a team in a league after years of searching, I was stoked. I was consistently running a 4.5 40 with ease. Quite often high school football players would come to the same track (it was actually part of the football stadium) and run, occasionally wanting to run with/against me. I never lost. I was reaching some incredible heights with my training and loved it. I was explosive and it felt incredible. I had a chance to play a little flag football where I grew up with guys who were great athletes in high school and everyone knew I was the fastest guy on the field. It was fun. I was on top of the mountain.
One day I was training a high school kid I worked with for years and we started goofing around. We started wrestling. Not going 100% or anything, but he was somewhat of a little brother role for me. In the process, my knee dislocated...badly. It was my 3rd full dislocation and by far the worst. I had to put it back myself and I knew this one was bad. When this one dislocated, it popped a ligament, chipped bone, tore cartilage, ripped meniscus. It made a mess. It was weeks of therapy before surgery because it was a swollen mess. "Like a bomb went off" inside the knee is what I was told. Bits and pieces of stuff everywhere. Had surgery obviously and coming out of anesthesia, the doctor reminded me of drunken words. "Do you remember what you said before you fell asleep Vince?" No. "You told me to make sure I put a Jamaican ligament in there." Of course I did....
I tell you all that because I haven't run fast since then. 7 years ago. I decided that was going to end. Saturday I went to the track and had a plan. That plan was going great so I stopped following it. I was working on 40s and just wanted to do 10 reps at an easy 5.4 speed to get my legs used to moving again. I invited my buddy Deme who had a hard time running that slow. I started running 5.4,5.3, 5.2, 5.1. I was going off the script. I got greedy. In the back of my mind i wanted a sub 5..today. 9th rep, I pushed it a little more.
Too far.
Hamstring grabbed me hard and I went to the ground. I laughed at first because my focus on that rep was "fall". My fall angle didn't feel good so I wanted to work on "falling". I fell alright. Basically it is like taking an old 67 Vette out of the garage after 10 years of sitting and seeing if it can hit 150 mph. Wheels are probably gonna fly off. I could stand on it gingerly but barely. Lot of pain, by far worst hammy tweak I have ever experienced. I wondered if I was going to be able to coach today....2 days later. It will be a couple months of work before I can get run slowly again, delaying a lot of my training. God wants me to work on other things right now I guess and sometimes maybe I need to stick to the DAMN plan.
So now I don't have to answer all day "why are you limping?" Cause I veered off the plan I created to keep myself safe. I got greedy. I knew better and now I have to pay the price. I'm a little angry about it if you can't tell.
So that is why I will be struggling to coach today and we have just sandbags and kettlebells, an opportunity to try something a little different that could be great. We will start with the upper pavilion today to keep it simple but know that if it goes well, there is no telling what the next North Dakota location will be.
I didn't even get to unpack all my thoughts about MLK day (the busiest day in gyms every year) today but maybe next time.
See ya in the woods!
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