"Too Lazy To Think Of A Good Title This Week" Update Friday

Snakebyte turned 7 this week, and *had* to ride the saddle at Texas Roadhouse, so good times!!

It's been a good week for me, too. I mentioned last week about the co-contraction of my muscles and visualizing one to shut off while the other is on, well it's working. I went from a 63:48 mile to a 36:44 mile in 10 days (17-20 min/mi is normal walking speed). This is of course due to therapy, and also using the elliptical every day, but part of it has to do with training my brain to interpret the messed up signals that it now gets through my spinal cord correctly; the other things I've been doing for months. Maybe it will never get better than that, who knows? But my speculation is that music helped because I stopped focusing so much on what wasn't working correctly and instead what feels like moving correctly, and the same here. If I keep in my head what is correct movement and what feels good, then I move better. For example, I'm practicing swinging my legs. My right leg would not just drop, the co-contraction would make it drop slowly and jerkily, not just swing down passively. But I've been working on it over and over again, visualizing my foot being sooo heavy and that muscle letting go, and I can swing it sometimes now. It's not enough to write a book on yet, but totally worth continuing!!
ALSO next week, a Pilates instructor offered to help me - I'm super stoked because I was doing it on my own because I didn't think anyone would want the liability, but she has a great reputation and it is exactly what I feel would help me right now! Wulf says that part of my problem is that my core is unstable due to the co-contraction and weak hips due to the injury, and since that's exactly what Pilates work on, I'm all for it.
My wrist is much much better, my hand is also moving better. Progress is so slow, I keep feeling like I'm telling you it's better but there's still so much to go, but the truth is there are little things better all the time, and even if it's not fully functional yet I see it headed that way and it's a good feeling.

Good luck to everyone racing Hy-Vee this weekend!!! Ashley Delaune of Smoothie Factory is racing it, she and her husband now own CajunMan, a Lafayette sprint on September 8th, which will be a great race too! The World Triathlon Grand Final starts just a couple of days later, and the TriCajuns' SugarMan is on October 6th. It's a hard time of the year for me for patience right now, but I'm looking forward to next year. Ya'll have a good one!