Hello friends and family,

Went to Movement University yesterday and learned some great, useful stuff! Jessie Stensfield, who was an Olypian and pro athlete taught the course and it was a full day of learning best technique and form for swim, bike and run. Much of what she spoke about my great coach, Kathy Alfino, had already taught me, but I came away with some great tools and was able to "fix" some things that were plaguing me...like, right hamstring pain during biking and running, as well as right knee pain during biking. Plus, my right shoulder always seems weaker than the left and wears out quicker. That darn right side!!!! lol.

Anyway, come to find out even though my core muscles are strong, I wasn't engaging them in the right way to anchor my limbs which allows them to do what they need to do freely. Also, I learned to use my gluteous muscles more (yes, my butt muslces) which counter-balances my core. I did both yesterday during my two hour run and today during my 3-hour bike (in the hurricane we had outside!) and boy did it work. No hamstring or knee pain! But, I can tell that my glutes aren't as in-shape as they need to be because they are SO sore now!!!! Know anyone that can help me with alleviating the pain?? ha ha ha! So I consider Movement U a success and a day well-spent.

I had some challenges this weekend with time and being able to get my workouts in. Family stuff and such. All good stuff and I had made commitments to be with people I cared about, but when push came to shove and I really wanted to rest more, that meant to get my workout in, I would've had to flake out on my peeps. Not wanting to do that, I kept all commitments, got all of my workouts in and am going to bed earlier than I have in quite a while. Going to Movement U made me realize how truly important sleep is and that I have been depriving myself in that area to get seemingly important things done. Jessie said that if you know how much sleep your body needs naturally, then you don't need to set an alarm to get up. Instead, set an alarm exactly that amount of time before you have to get up, to indicate your bed time. What a great idea! So, that's what I'm doing. Also, give yourself a little buffer to wrap things up, deal with unforseen things and to get to sleep. So, I need 7 hours of sleep and will start getting ready for bed at 8pm, so that I can be in bed, going to sleep at 9. That means I can wake up at 4:30 to start my workouts.

Also, I realized (again, for the 100th time!) that the difference between a recreational and pro athlete is that pros do their workouts when they don't feel like it or it's not ideal conditions. Recreational athletes take advantage of excuses to stop them. My good friend and former Ironman Pro Athlete, Brandon del Campo taught me this, and for it, I am forever grateful! Try it on for size yourself, in whatever part of your life it applies.