That's right, just when everyone thought I was done, I am only 10 days out. The last couple of months kind of flew buy with my preparation for this pending day.
Am I in my best shape? Of course not.
Has the last 2 months been hell? It sure has - psychologically, anyway.
No tan, out of shape and never hungry.
Wait a minute... Did you think... Oops, sorry. I don't want to mislead anyone, so I should clarify: I am 10 days out from finally getting back into the gym after what will be a little over 9 weeks. Hey, don't be mad; It's a bitch to have to do coach logs every week when I'm staying as far away from bodybuilding as I can possibly get.
2 months of eating once or MAYBE twice a day and reminding myself after being up for 8 hours that I probably should drink some water, and sleeping even more oddball hours than I usually do - 4 hours here, 6 hours there, 12 hours every 3 or 4 days after binge-watching yet another Netflix series. In fact, it's quite sad to admit that the highlight of the last 2 months has been watching TV and not shaving my balls. Oh, and I did manage to move during this time (but this will probably seem anticlimactic, as well) - just down the hall. We needed a bigger place and this place was newly renovated. When your wife is the boss, you get to take advantage of these fringe benefits.
I have found myself in a different place (mentally and I guess physically - based on the new apartment) and feeling pretty good about coming out of the shadows, so-to-speak. I have had quite a bit of time to reflect and haven't taken this much time off in a very long time.
I have come to understand that even though bodybuilding doesn't necessarily define me, I am miserable without it. I can now admit that it makes up a bigger part of me than I previously gave credit to until I took this time off. I can't say I was "depressed," but I certainly wasn't "me," either. I tried to keep myself busy by traveling a little bit and as much fun as that was, when I was back at home here in Fort Lauderdale, I found myself not very motivated to go out. Was it because I am out of shape and have no tan? I wondered, but I don't think that is really the issue. Now, I wasn't going to go to the BEACH looking like this, but in retrospect, I think I just wanted to really enjoy the downtime and do what I rarely get to do: sit on my ass, not worry about eating at a specific time or going to the gym at a specific time. Then there's getting X amount of sleep, staying overhydrated, shaving my balls (I have a balls theme going here), etc.. Hell, there were days I wouldn't even leave our place; I would just work all day and forget to even brush my teeth.
As much as I enjoyed the downtime, it has been long enough. My blood rebounded quite impressively and all signs point to being pretty damn healthy. Who woulda thought? Sometimes, I am just in my head too much so this break was much needed. I am just glad it's coming to an end.
I will consider next week "peak week," in that I will be going to NYC with my wife for our 25th Anniversary and just plain having non-bodybuilding fun. Ok, ok, I MIGHT drop into Bev's place but only to get a shirt and get the hell out of there. Otherwise, nothing but baseball, tourist shit, Kinky Boots( Broadway show - something to do with Cyndi Lauper) and chaperoning my drunk wife.
The day after we get home, it is back to the grind. I have never missed it so much. Weird. And if I ever do a show again, I won't announce it - not even at 10 days out.