Henry

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Goals, Motivation, and Some Thoughts...

Yesterday, I went for a spin at The Point (click here for its website or here to get its Facebook page), and decided to do two walks as opposed to one.  

The first will be in May, for "us," and the second will be in September to raise both money and awareness for Pathways (a rehabilitation service for people with cognitive damage of whatever sort).  

I'm falling behind in my training, and my hamstrings are incredibly tight, but I'll keep trying.  

I also made another decision, though it might be un-reachable for a long time.  I have decided to do another triathlon, though running isn't feasible, and I haven't put my face in the water, so swimming will be a huge deal.  I sent a note to a lifeguard with whom I have done swimming lessons before, and asked her what the feasibility would be for swimming lessons in the summer.  Wow, I'm going to be busy...

All the way...and then some...

Today, when I arrived at my personal training session, I announced that I wanted to start with Burpees.  (For those of you unfamiliar with Burpees, see the YouTube video below.)

When Laurie, my trainer, asked how many I would like to do I said, with confidence, "40".  She looked at me, eyes wide, and said, "okay, we'll start with 5."  No doubt she was thinking "holy cow, this guy can't do 40," but she kept that to herself.

And so we started, but after the first 5 I thought, "there is no way I'm going to get to 40 today," feeling dejected, I looked at Laurie and said, "I don't think I can do 40 after all."

Well Laurie did not agree with me at all.  She may have been skeptical at the start, but she wasn't letting me off the hook.  Long story short, on I went.  

Burpees are difficult for me to do because, according to medical science, a person who has suffered a brain injury like I have is not physically supposed to be able to jump.  Not at all.  When I jump sometimes both my feet leave the ground, and sometimes only one does, and sometime they don't move far at all.  Until today I thought it mattered that I get both feet of the ground, but the reality is that when they do it's a gift.


What does matter is that I am able to get down to the ground, complete a push-up, and then stand-up again.  It takes strength and coordination to do that.  Not bad for a guy who was told he may never walk again. Getting off the ground is just a bonus.

So I focused on the important parts of the burpee, not the insignificant jump at the end, and before I knew it, I got to 20...

...and then I started thinking: "all the way, and then some..."

I got myself to 40!  But then I thought, "well, 40 is the 'all the way' part...where's the 'then some?'"  

So...I GOT TO 42 BURPEES!  That's all the way and then some for you!

My First Post...

I'm not sure what to write yet.  I have lots of anger.  I have lots of sadness.  I have lots of frustration.  But with the support of some amazing people around me who believe in me more than I sometimes believe in myself, I've set myself a goal of walking 5kms in the upcoming "Race Weekend" here in Ottawa.

My trainer and friend, Laurie, has made a training plan for me, and she and some others are signing up for the 5km event so that I can have lots of support to cheer me on as I walk.  Below is the training plan.

I'll try to use this blog to log my thoughts about my workouts, but I'll likely also write about other things...my thoughts, my feelings...who knows what?

Thanks for joining me on this journey, and you and I can discover where it's going to take us at the same time.

5km Training Plan:

Week	Week	Weekly Activity	Long Walk (Weekend)
1	Jan 16 - 22	10 minute walk + 20 minute Spin	15 minute walk
2	Jan 23 - 29	15 minute walk + 25 minute Spin	20 minute walk
3	Jan 30 - Feb 5	15 minute walk + 30 minute Spin	15 minute walk
4	Feb 6 - 12	15 minute walk and 2 x 20 minute Spins	25 minute walk
5	Feb 13 - 18	15 minute walk and 2 x 25 minute Spins	15 minute walk
6	Feb 20 - 26	15 minute walk and 2 x 25 minute Spins	30 minute walk
7	Feb 27- Mar 4	15 minute walk and 2 x 30 minute Spins	20 minute walk
8	Mar 5 - 11	20 minute walk and 2 x 30 minute Spins	35 minute walk
9	Mar 12 - 18	15 minute walk and 2 x 35 minute Spins	20 minute walk
10	Mar 19 - 25	20 minute walk and 2 x 35 minute Spins	40 minute walk
11	Mar 26 - April 1	2 x 15 minute walks and 2 x 20 minute Spins
12	April 2 - 8	2 x 15 minutes walks and 30 minute Spin	45 minute walk
13	April 9 - 15	2 x 20 minute walks and 35 minute Spin	25 minute walk
14	April 16 - 22	2 x 25 minute walks and 35 minute Spin	50 minute walk
15	April 23 - 29	2 x 25 minute walks and 40 minute Spin	30 minute walk
16	April 30- May 6	2 x 30 minute walks and 40 minute Spin	55 minute walk
17	May 7 - 13	2 x 35 minute walks and 40 minute Spin	60 minute walk
18	May 14 - 20	3 x 15 minute walks and 20 minute Spin	30 minute
19	May 20 - 26		5 km! (Race Weekend!)