I have not been great about posting this summer. Truth be told I was not in the greatest place this summer. This has been both physical and mental.

THE PHYSICAL

Going into my bench meet in June my back issues had been acting up. Due to some pretty severe sciatica pain training became a chore in just figuring out what I could do. I also started developing a runner's rash in my armpits, ewe, gross, yes. That kept me from conditioning hard and even being outside a lot as the heat and sweating exacerbated it. Last, I strained my calf which even kept me from most conditioning inside or outside.

THE MENTAL

The lack of being able to train how I'd like definitely took a toll on me. Exercise is therapy. I know there are those out there who will tell you exercise is not the cure all for depression, but it is for me.

There have been two extraordinarily difficult times in my life. One of which I continued to exercise and I coped as well as one could expect. During the other I did not exercise and there was an instance where I thought it would just be easier if I were no longer alive. Fortunately I have an amazing support system with my wife who I speak to honestly and was there in every way possible to get me through that time.

So there, exercise is very important to me and to some extent it was taken away this summer. It didn't bring on full blown depression as there were really no conflating personal factors. However, there was a geniune malaise for a good month.

GOING FORWARD

With my body becoming more whole my mind is coming with it. I have put on a little weight and hopefeully with it, some muscle. Stay tuned for an upcoming "Powerbuilding" blog as it was a block of training that I played with over the summer. After two months I feel like I have it where I can implement it as one of my Training Seasons. Be on the lookout for that as a blog as well.

Right now though, it's time to get some of the fluff off. It seems like the body is cooperating where I can begin a conditioning block. As I have hit my lifting goals for the year (double bw bench and 2.5x bw deadlift), I still have my mile time to contend with which is ultimately 8:00 minutes, however, I will gently begine by tackling it in 10:00.

THANK YOU

I am always overwhelmed to know anyone reads my blog at all. People even reach out when they haven't seen me post regularly. I appreciate that. I apologize again for my sporadic and maybe less than stellar blogs. I appreciate the support.