Reinforcement

This week affirmed my training efforts of the past several months. With my IT Band/Knee issue resolved in late June, I've been able to safely rebuild strength, speed and stamina with a finely crafted plan. Aaron is responsible for determining how to build my muscle strength, speed and power, while I was in charge of plotting out how many and what kind of miles I would run. The two plans built up to this past week, where we entered the "over-reaching" stage of training. This is a common concept in the world of athletics, a nebulous zone that you cannot reach with exacting guidelines - it's an intuitive push-pull with the body, heeding signals, small and large, as to how to proceed (i.e., back off or make a go for over-reaching). Over-reaching occurs after many months of progressive training - as your body is pushed to the brink you "over-reach" your potential. Over-reaching generally consists of 1-2 training sessions that push the envelope after you've already given what you think is your all. Ideally, you do not cross the line into being "overtrained". What's the difference? I'll take an excerpt from Livestrong.com to summarize:

Over-reaching, when performed under the supervision of a trained professional, might actually benefit your athletic performance. Periods of over-reaching followed by periods of recovery both challenge your muscles as well as allow those muscles to repair and recuperate, and might lead to an increase in your overall strength. Overtraining, on the other hand, can significantly damage your body and might require months of rest before you can resume your workouts, decreasing your physical fitness over time.

The result of over-reaching this week is that I feel great. I feel I'm at the pinnacle of strength and fitness, peaking at just the right time to strive for a PR for the year - not for all times, but for 2012. I am not sore, tired or drained, as I have often been as I enter my race taper. Now that I've managed a week of over-reaching, my body will have time to recover in the taper week leading up to the Skeleton Skamper. It's thrilling to experience the body responding so well to the weekly build up - more miles, quicker pace, heavier weights, more reps, etc. My own excitement over this result has been bolstered by others as well. There is no way to share these next tidbits without sounding like a braggart, but several comments were made that served to reinforce my efforts.

1. Sunday we did the ALS Walk with my friend Julie and her family (her brother-in-law at age 48 is in his third year with ALS). Her gorgeous 21 year old daughter actually told Julie she thought I was beautiful (seriously? no make-up, hair in a hat, etc.) and only in my early 30's. (obviously the result of diet and exercise... and my prescription retinol face cream!)

2. A guy at the gym I've known for years said (and not in a creepy way), "You're looking really good, Joy. And I swear you're looking younger than you did years ago."

3. A new woman at the gym approached me in the locker room and told me she'd recently joined the WAC as the result of a fitness challenge at work. She said she watches me with Aaron and is inspired by how strong I am and all that I can do. She is now striving to reach a higher level.

All this reinforcement after close to 9 months of struggle with first my hamstring and then my knee, is crucial in reminding me that nothing stays the same forever, that better days do arrive and that we can bounce back stronger from adversity.