Suck it Up, Amber

Background:  I'm recovering from a sprained ankle- and a torn ligament, as I found out yesterday from the physical therapist.  So, running is out for now.  Between that, and missing my first 10K today, I've been pretty down all week.  (and emotional, and extremely cranky, as my family will quickly attest to).  I've had trouble falling asleep without my daily dose of cardio, to burn up some energy and stress.  Throw in the additional stresses of finances and Christmas coming, and my inability to cook (hence screwing up almost ALL of our meals this week) I guess "down" was an understatement- more like miserable.

Long story short, my coach asked me if I wanted to spin with her on Saturday morning, but didn't get back to me to let me know if there was a bike available. (not being a member, I can only go if there's an opening, and have a guest pass)  Now when I say Saturday morning- this is 5:30am.  Not a huge deal for me to be up that early to exercise, but getting up at 4:30am to arrive and not have an available bike would have been pretty disheartening.  I made the decision in the middle of the night when I woke up (2am... remember, not sleeping well...)- shut my alarm off.   5 minutes later, I said, "Suck it up, Amber.  If you can't spin, deal with it.  If you can, it will make you feel a whole lot better about yourself - especially having to miss the race today."  And I turned the alarm back on.

I got a text from my coach as I was driving there.... we were all go!  Glad I didn't sleep in!

I was feeling good- no ankle pain!  And then I got another surprise... this class was in place of their Saturday morning ride, which tends to be a very long distance.  An hour into the class, having no idea how long I had left to ride, I said, "Suck it up, Amber!"  I was doing well... not dying or anything, I was just nervous about how my ankle was fairing.  Then, 90 minutes in, my coach announced that "this" was her last song, and then Jeremiah would take over, and anyone was welcome to stay.  I chose to leave at this point, but let me tell you, after 90 minutes of spinning, I feel awesome!  It truly was the highlight of my week.

I'm so glad I sucked it up, and didn't stay in bed.