sad and lonely ramblings(5)

I was at a water fountain early this morning in Georgetown. I was bending down getting some water and I could see my reflection. I almost didn't recognize myself. It was someone else. Or was it really me. This sort of identify confusion or more likely how appearances change popped up from time to time. Most recently it came to fruition when I was wearing this shirt that I haven't wore that much.

There was a time in 2006 when I didn't run for over three months. My IT band was flaring up and it was honestly the most painful injury that I have ever had. It was also the most frustrating injury I have ever had. It never hurt when I walked, but as soon as I ran it was painful. It was like a hammer was being pounded on the side of my knee. I eventually went to the doctor to see what was wrong with it after those months and did some physical therapy. It was some stretching and muscle strengthening and that did the trick. I was completely bugged that something so simple could so easily cure something that had plagued me for so long.

In between those months instead of running I needed to do something with myself to keep myself active. In those three months I gained about ten pounds and weighed 155 pounds. It was ten pounds of MUSCLE! RAWR! I lifted about five to six times a week, on average about an hour a day. So the time that I would have been running had been replaced. I started benching at 135 at the beginning of my workout and at the end I was starting out at 175 and finishing the regular bench at 205. I never maxed out or even tried it, but I'm betting that it would have been around 230. My workout for chest went something like this:

Regular bench 3 sets, reps 10, 8, 6

Dumbbells at the peak 45 pounds 3 sets, reps all 10 (regular bench settings)

Incline bench 3 sets, reps 10, 8, 6

Dumbbells at the peak 45 pounds 3 sets, reps all 10 (incline bench settings)

Decline bench 3 sets, reps 10, 8, 6

Dumbbells at the peak 45 pounds 3 sets, reps all 10 (decline bench settings)

After that I might do something that worked my shoulders or if I was tired then I would go home. But man I got jacked! The green shirt that wore a couple weeks ago was super tight on the biceps, my pecs (RAWR!) jutted out. That shirt and other shirts were tight in certain parts and I was able to feel at the one point of my life to feel my body changing in a different way, and I knew about it. Once I got back to running, I was still lifting, but after a while running became more important. And right now I hardly ever lift and it's a rather foreign thing. Although I'll never forget that time in my life. I thought my life without running wouldn't be the same, but I found a new thing and enjoyed it.

For the song of the day, it's from Streetlight Manifesto and it's a live version of their song "Somewhere in Between". I always like to hear live versions of songs to see if a band plays it a little bit difference than what they did on the album. And here they add a few little things to the song.