Valkyrie Squad Day 52, Blade Day 5: I Survived!
Week One of Blade has really taught me one specific thing: I need an earlier bedtime.
Not counting my cycle as a factor in this weeks performance, especially because it was over by late Tuesday, I have been positively exhausted every day. Literally in my jammies by 7:30-8:00pm every evening and trying to force my eyes to stay open. At least three of five days this week I have gone back to bed and done my workout later in the day. At one point on Wednesday, I almost convinced myself I could skip a workout day because I was just so damned tired. I still did all my workouts, but I have dragged wholesale booty through the remainder of every day. Since so little of my week was cycle influenced, the only conclusion I can come to, is that the intensity of Blade is going to require more actual rest for my body to get through it.
That being said, starting this weekend I’m going to be going to bed earlier, by 10pm if I can help it. This means sacrificing some very beloved and rare to behold quiet time with my husband. I take my kids to bed at around 9:00pm every night, and I lay with them until they fall asleep, the youngest two anyway, seem to need me around to stay in bed right now, so I’m usually in there reading on my Kindle App until they knock out, roughly 20-30 minutes later. Then I stay up with my husbeard, until about 10:45pm, brush my teeth and haul my butt to my own bed. Being that we live with other people, as well has having three kids, we don’t get much alone time to just hang out, so we covet that evening time together. But I am just so damn tired this week, I’m struggling to keep myself up early in the morning to get the work done, and my body is so sore, even with the opportunity to take a nap in the afternoon, it’s not enough. Which means I may have to sacrifice some of my time with my husbeard in the evenings to allow myself the rest I need to stay consistent with Squad Training.
I’ve noticed this week has been more challenging for me mentally as well. And maybe it’s 100% influenced by the level of exhaustion I’ve felt following this week’s workout schedule, that’s yet to be determined and something I’m obviously planning on experimenting with next week. But this week I’ve had to rally my determination and give myself a few pep talks just to push play. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved the workouts, and I’ve loved the intensity. Remember, I asked for this, was so, so ready for it to get harder… but the hard combined with the tired has really made this week tricky for me. I’ve still accomplished every workout and noticed both improvements as well as areas I need to spend more time on, but not without first having to talk myself into it. I hope that an earlier bedtime and some more solid rest will help me get over this slump and be better prepared to dive in next Monday for Blade Week Two. I’ve also slacked a lot on my Mindstilling, which is maybe another factor in why this week has felt like such a challenge. I really hope next week is better.
With a new bedtime to contemplate, I am super glad that today’s workout is a short and sweet 15 minutes of Core. Compared to every other day this week, which was a super intense and hard 25-30 minutes of total body work and boxing drills, today should be relatively light. I’m sure I’ll be kicking myself for uttering such a sentence once I’m done with it.
I knew I’d regret saying it. Just looking at the calendar told me it was Core, but once I pressed play on the video, I was made aware that core will be using weights today. My Noodle Arms are not pleased.
We warmed up with Middengard Wyrm Walkouts. I remember when this was an actual workout move early in Novice, and now it’s a warm up for Blade. Naturally.
Then we moved into Plank Twist Reaches, which was both hard and a relief for my shoulders and back, my lats are so sore from boxing.
Dead Hyberns were the last move of our warm up. Yes, still the warm up. I actually love how these moves used to be core focal work, and now we’re using them to prepare for the actual work out. Evolution of strength is pretty cool.
Weighted Crunches started the real core work, and I was okay for the first 4 reps… and then my ribs remembered what we did Wednesday and Thursday and it was no longer okay.
V Sits with a weight- again, my ribs were displeased here. And I may have had to stop for a few seconds.
Plank Drag Throughs- My disdain for planks has not lessened in Blade. Though admittedly this was easier than anything else we’ve done.
At this point I realized that we’re moving through these moves pretty quickly, and Sam mentioned there being only a few moves left…. which is disguised speech for “This is a Circuit, and you will be repeating these.” I may have sneered at Sam through the screen a little.
Kneeling Twists- Probably the least offensive part of the workout.
Standing Wing Sweeps- A balance move that didn’t feel hard for the first few seconds, but toward the end it was challenging.
I wasn’t wrong. It’s a circuit, and we are repeating it.
Never more relieved for a shorter workout, all the sore muscles awake and now even more sore than before we started. The little bit of arm use for these has renewed the heavy, dead, noodle arm sensation that was so dominant the last two days. My ribs are just an ache, a solid, steady, ache, and I just know that any time I’m reaching overhead for anything in my cabinets today, I will be very aware of how each muscle articulates and moves across my bones.
With such a quick workout today, I have some time before the Sun comes up and I can take Yrsa for a walk. I fully plan on hunkering down in the recliner with my hot tea and reading another of Sarah J Maas’ masterpieces. I’m so glad I listened to BookTok and looked up this author and dove into her works, the strong female leads are so inspiring, especially as a woman who’s never wanted to be the dainty damsel in distress, but the Warrior Queen who changes the world. Her characters speak to me in a way that I’ve never found in any other book or storyline.
Anyway, I am now even more tired and sweaty, and perhaps my book reading will turn into a recliner nap until the kids get up for the day. Today might be a day for multiple cat naps, I will not feel bad about them either. I do have some things I have to do this weekend, so I wont be lazy for all of it, but I am definitely in need some good sound rest.
Photo by Anete Lusina on Pexels.com
I can’t believe I made it through Blade Week One! It seems like it went by so fast. It’s a weird moment when you feel like you dragged yourself through the week, but also are shocked that it’s already Friday. I’m looking forward to the weekend, to Mindstilling and Walking and stretching out every inch of my sore body. I also have some Super Top Secret Valkyrie Project work to get into, a project that is likely months away from launching, but something that Sam, Myself, and a Valkyrie Sister are all joining forces to get going. I’m so excited to see where this leads, and to be part of it. Too bad I can’t share any other details on it yet! Guess you’ll have to pay attention and look for clues…
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