It is Sunday evening, just past the 6pm hour, and I’m (not-so-)patiently waiting for the oven to declare its contents (lasagna!) ready for consumption. I had a good workout on the trainer today, and I immediately followed it up with one of my new yoga DVD’s from Rodney Yee. I love Rodney Yee. After 30 minutes of this “slow-pace” yoga, however, I may not have been loving Rodney Yee so much. Nonetheless! I will appreciate every new challenge, as I realize the benefit to me, and not just for my Ironman training – because my life (and my athletic life!) does not end when Ironman does.
This week (Week 5) was witness to a rather big development: the disappearance of my hip pain. And it wasn’t a kidnapping whereby it only returned a couple of days later – it seems to be gone for good. Do not send out any APB’s on this please, as I am not looking to receive it back. Instead, I will continue forward, keeping with my moderately progressing training plan for the next couple of weeks, to ensure that I do not start to over-do things and, as a result, start experiencing hip pain again. This is a large boost of confidence for me; the amount of strength I am feeling right now definitely exceeds any level I have previously attained. That is good, this lets me know I’m really getting somewhere. I owe a lot of this, I believe, to my new-found love of the practice of yoga, as it has made blatant the many imbalances – strength, flexibility, and otherwise – that are found throughout my body. 
This is not bad, however, as it has allowed me to tailor my strength routine (and the rest of my training) toward these imbalances, and the task of restoring a homeostatic state, if you will. I attribute this focus to the strength I am feeling, the greater efficiency in which I move, and, of course, my improved flexibility!
So, with these improvements, I look forward to the tests that Week 6 brings, experiencing the feeling of strength and efficiency I have gained while getting through them, and I look forward with ever-increasing excitement to that ultimate test – race day.
“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”
– John Wooden
Made2Move Performance Training 