Yo Yo Up

Yeah, the yo yo is still going up and down. Over the past week it was at the bottom. Since Monday flipped the odometer of this injury up to eighteen weeks, I went through another sinking spell. A third of a year is enough time to heal a broken bone three times over. Not so my shoulder.

To make matters worse, I have some important decisions to make and my health is a major factor in those conclusions. By health, I am still blessed enough to be referring to running and swimming. I haven't run since November 2016. I am able to swim, but every time I get around 2,500 meters, the shoulder goes backwards. To train for Chicot, I need several session of well over 10,000 meters. Right now that is a no go.

The doctor left it up to me if I wanted to get an MRI or not. I am trying to put that off because even with insurance it costs a lot of money. I have given myself a deadline. By December if I cannot swim 3,500 meters with no negative consequences, I'll go for the MRI. The doc said all I had to do was call.

During Mom's final week and the aftermath, I learned something else about my troublesome appendage. It got worse, much worse when I do not workout. I have noticed that before but this time the layoff was longer and consequently the downhill slide was worse. The shoulder gets better when worked, but if too much work it goes backwards. Slowly I am learning the things that it doesn't like. Last night I must have hit it just right because it feels 100% today. I know it is not 100%, but it feels as good as it ever has. Among other things, I benched

15 X 55
16 X 65
17 X 75
10 X 85
10 X 85

and did the Swim Pull for

15 X 22.5
20 X 22.5
22 X 22.5
10 X 22.5.

With the new machine, I can do seated rows. I have done them with the equipment I already had, but the angle is different with the new machine. The shoulder seems to like those a lot. In addition to seated rows, the new equipment has a Smith machine. My shoulder does not like to be pulled back like I have to to use it to back squat, but I am doing front squats with it holding the bar with an undergip hand position.

Maybe I will be able to do Chicot this year. Right now, my gaze is coming up after my eyes being on the ground just ahead of my steps. The Bible calls God "the lifter up of my head"  (Psalm 3:3). Thank you, Lord.