It's hard to believe it's been 18 weeks now (over 80 sessions), since starting back on consistent strength training. The next goal is to see what it's like after 26 weeks of this training.
This past week I had all my strength workouts: M-F (approximately 5 hrs). I ran with my wife three days on a 2 mi route; with our last run being a PR of 2 miles in 20 minutes even. (This is great for someone who has never run before. It's a good time of exercise and bonding: three of my favorite work outs of the week.) I also ran by myself twice: 8 and 9 miles with my average paces in the low 8's.I don't have my log, but I think I only had one session on my bike. Not much time for a ride coming up very soon. I'm still not sure how to put more time in on the saddle as I don't want to give up the strength training, nor the running with my wife. I could swap out my runs, but the wind has been a bear; hard for running, extremely difficult for riding.
No real improvements this past week: lost a couple reps here and gained a few their. I also picked up a few pounds. My middle daughter has become quite a good 'cookie' baker - so we are flush with yummy variations of peanut butter cookies. Unfortunately tonight I found the jar full again of fresh cookies .. and took care of maybe 7! :-(Tonight's run was kind of neat: I don't normally get side aches, so a 1 1/2 miles I walked for a couple minutes due to the pain. It gave me a chance to think about why I was running and what I should be thinking and praying about on this run. The rest was good - adding a loop to bump the distance to just under 9 mi with ~3 of the middle miles run at a faster time. What was the focus? The short answer: to take off the burden / yoke that I was starting to put on my wife to please me; to meet my expectations. That burden is a thief to giving unconditionally. It's hard to love unconditionally when you have expectations that go unmet. It's much better to lower the expectation bar and focus on raising the unconditional giving bar...
After the run, I was able to come home (after what seemed like just a few minutes but was really ~73 mins) with renewed resolve, purpose and direction. Ready to give love with out conditions or requirements - a challenge for sure. There's something neat about being able to let your spouse fall asleep in your arms or under your affectionate care. I would encourage all who are married to practice this weekly: find pleasure and satisfaction in speaking the Love language of your spouse - even to the point of letting them fall asleep while you continue to give unselfishly. These are seeds that will indeed bear fruit in your spouse.
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