Day 7

Day 7 : Celebrating a small win

Today my boys and I had a plan to go to a movie in the morning, but when I woke up my middle son, he complained that he had a sore throat. His voice was rough too. I checked his temp and he had a fever, so we postponed our movie date.

I was still pretty tired. Maybe I'm still caught in the tail end of the jet lag. I too had a sore throat, so I took my morning very easy.

As I was getting ready to go out for training, my mom, looking at me in a tank top, asked me this. "So both you and your husband are looking jacked now?" I said "Yep. Pretty much." She said "Where is my youngest daughter heading to?"

I knew this was coming. I thought I was prepared. But it took me a while to actually put my thoughts together. All I could say was "I'm not trying to look jacked. I'm simply doing what my body requires. Strength training is necessary for you. I just ended up looking this way." She didn't say anything.

Then I headed out to Chikara CrossFit. The very first CrossFit affiliate in Tokyo. It was located in the heart of Tokyo, very close to the parliament and the prime minister's official residence. It was a bit hard to find the place, but I made it in time for the 2:00pm class.

I was greeted by Coach Otoya and Coach Shingo. This place had everything you need. Nice showers, vanity area, turf, kitchen... everything.

Today's class was run by Coach Shingo, who made it to the Asia regional. The class was pretty big for a weekday afternoon with 11 athletes. We did warm-up, mobility work, and today's WOD was accessary workout. 4 rounds of 8-10 split squats, 1 min rest, 8-12 Trap 3, 1 min rest, 30-45 sec side plank, 1 min rest. Coach Shingo was like "You should have come on a day with harder WOD. Today it's a bit boring. But it's important to do this once a week." I didn't mind it at all, and I'm sure I'd come for a different menu before I leave for Canada. Both Shingo and Otoya spent many years in San Francisco learning CrossFit, and they run their class mostly in English.

I enjoyed the hour there, promised that I'd come by again, and left. This weekend they will watch the CrossFit Games at the gym, so I'm planning on joining them along with my boys.

I hopped back on subway train and headed back to my home station. I stopped at the coffee shop and had a bite to eat. I chose curry there. Then I went to see my dad.

He sounded a little weak today. He asked me to pull out something from the drawer for him. He said he ate all his lunch, but he wasn't feeling very well.

I started the exercise. I told him to push my hand back but he didn't have much control today. He complained that he was feeling a little dizzy, and he couldn't flex at all. He was breathing a bit heavily as well. I continued to work on his legs. But eventually he looked a bit out of breath, so I just had him take deep breaths.

He told me that today he was put on a wheel chair and spent some time in the meeting room. I came to understand that he spent some time sitting up today so his blood pressure was affected. That's probably why he was feeling dizzy. I decided not to sit him up today.

He told me that he could move around on the wheel chair, and the nurse was surprised to see him move around. Then she would tell him to work harder. "They all make me work harder. Your mom too. Always harder, more." I asked him why they'd say that to him. He was like "I have no idea. Maybe because they are mean." I said, "No. It's not because they are mean. It's because they believe that you can do more." But I know that "more" has to come from within. Right now hearing "more" and "harder" only gives him unnecessary pressure, and he rejects it all.

I asked him again what he'd do if he was free from all the conditions. He was like "I told you already. I want to go to Hakone." He talked about all the train rides and places to see, even the food he'd like to eat as well. Maybe I'll go find a book on Hakone and bring it to him soon.

Then he said something absolutely remarkable. 

"Now that you come and help me move, I can lift my hip a little bit. I couldn't do this at all."

He grabbed the railings and lifted his hip just a little bit. Being able to shift his own body in bed is a huge deal. And he actually associated the exercise he's been doing with me and the change in his ability. "That's awesome. You can do something you couldn't do before. See, your body will respond. Your body can get better."

He was still breathing heavy and looked tired, so I left the hospital.

I cried all the way home.

From now on, I gotta make sure that he knows it's his own hard work that will make a difference. Not mine.

No photo today.

I don't have anything planned tomorrow. Depending on how my middle son is feeling, we will do something for fun.