Happy to report that my lack of updates is because I’ve been sticking with the bumped up workout plan. I still have to be careful about overloading my left shoulder, but continued PT seems to be keeping it on the healing track while still training. Generally I feel like it is fitting into my day-to-day life without major sacrifice. I even managed to get decent workouts in during two work trips which has been a major stumbling point for me. Three years ago I would have cringed at the idea of trying to find time to exercise 5-6 days a week. I only have time to take class in the studio once a week and even that can be a pain to work into the family schedule. It has taken time to ramp up to where I am, but thanks to my weekly ‘circus hit’ I genuinely look forward to the hour I spend fitting a conditioning workout in or going for a run. I’m prone to minor depression of a kind that I don’t usually notice until after I’m on the other side and life starts feeling less difficult. By most climatological measures, this winter pretty much sucked, yet for me it had almost no noticeable hard parts. Even if I wasn’t seeing the physical benefits, I’d say that the mental health improvements are well worth the effort I’m putting in.
From a training standpoint, the additional exercise is resulting in small, but important, performance improvements. The strength I’m gaining will give me more endurance, control and protection from injury. I’ve upped my max number of pull-ups from 4 to 6, but for the most part these aren’t measurable. I’m at the point in training where it is less about learning new tricks and more about adding some artistry, perfecting the tricks I do know and learning to move between tricks with control and grace. I’ve even signed up to perform at the end of June in school’s student showcase.
As for non-circus things, things are following a reasonably smooth path these days. Life has been mostly days of work, errands, family dinners, house projects, and enjoying time with my husband and kid. From the outside it may seem predictable and boring, but after a reasonably dramatic decade, I’m at a point where I can appreciate the more stable flow that is happening now. A growing kid, consulting work, three dogs and a 100 year-old house seem to ensure the routine doesn’t stagnate into a rut.
