Showing posts with label gym. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gym. Show all posts

Monday, October 31, 2011

Week Four: Disney Princess Half Marathon Training


Week Four

Monday – yoga

Unlike Shakira, my hips do lie. They like to pretend they are okay and don’t hurt, until move from sitting to standing, or standing to sitting, or any combination of moving. My hips were really tight so I asked the yoga instructor for poses that might help stretch out my hips and lessen the tension. She showed me a few moves, but they didn’t really help. Throughout the whole class, I felt uncomfortable, like I couldn’t settle into the pose because I was too tense and concentrating on the fact that I was in pain. I did benefit from the hamstring stretching and some lower back twisting, but I didn’t feel like I got the best workout from this class. Just lots of frustration. Hopefully next week will be better.

Tuesday – rest

Wednesday – run

My first time running at lunch. I ran on the trail behind my work.




It's a very pretty trail
I started feeling pain in my left hip/lower back in my right calf. I think my hip/back pain issues are making me over compensate and causing my right calf pain. I find myself limping and I seem to drag my right leg a little. I need to get it looked at by a different chiropractor because after a year and a half, mine obviously hasn’t helped me.

30 mins - 1.78 miles  (16:49/mi)

Thursday – rest

I took a bicycle maintenance class at EMS in Northborough. It was worth driving through the snow and sleet to get there. (Yes, I know it’s still October.)


Friday – run

Horrible, horrible run. Or lack thereof I should say. My co-worker brought a treadmill into work, which is awesome, because now I don't have to run in the cold on my lunch, OR wait til night time when I'd rather relax.

But for some reason this was just a horrible run. Halfway through, I realized that the treadmill was on an incline. I'm sure that this is better for me when I run, but adding that to my current hip/lower back pain, it hurt. I tried fixing the incline so was that zero, just so I could run. But it would not go down. I put the incline up; it went up. I tried to put the incline down again; it stayed up. There was no winning this battle so I just slowed down and took more walk breaks. It was kind of defeating but at the same time it will make me appreciate the good runs when I have them. Or so they say. Whoever “they” is, I'd like to meet them and push them in the snow.

30 mins - 1.56 miles (19:13/mi)

Saturday – hike rest

Speaking of snow, I was supposed to go hiking with a group of friends, but Mother Nature decided that she had other plans for us. She dumped 6 inches of snow half way up the mountain, with more presumed at the summit, before Saturday. Then she dumped more on Saturday afternoon. Needless to say we did not hike. Instead I went shopping and then came home to snuggle up under blankets and comforters and relax. That didn’t last long. We lost power at 6:50PM and I took the opportunity to catch up on some blog ideas I’ve had. I seem to sit down to write them, and get distracted by other people’s blogs!

Sunday – long run

This was the run the almost didn’t happen.

I got up early (not because I wanted to, but because the damn plows woke me at 1am, 4am and 7am) and decided that since I didn’t have power, I’d head over to the gym, do my 2 miles, shower, then hit up Panera or Starbucks for breakfast and free Wi-Fi. That plan didn’t work out so well.


I had to turn around and go a different way. Then, I had to cut through a shopping plaza because yet another road was closed. Finally, I got to the gym.

No Power
Instead I went to Panera and used their Wi-Fi for blogging purposes. Next thing I knew it was lunchtime. I grabbed lunch, and then headed home. I was thinking about trying to run outside, even though there were tree limbs and power lines down everywhere, but most of the snow had melted in my complex area, and the roads were clear and free of debris and danger. The only thing stopping me was lack of shower. But I was reminded that since our water is hooked up to gas and not electric, the gas heats the water as well and our water stays hot even with the power out! HOT SHOWERS!!! Score! So I decided to suck it up and deal with running in the cold. And I bundled up for a short run.



I can only imagine how much more I’ll be bundled on longer runs. Hell. It was Hell.

This was a “rest week” long run. Thank God. My body needed a break. My back, hip, and calves have been hurting a lot all week. Not the entire time, just whenever I run. Today was no different.

2 miles – 36:11 (18:07/mi pace)

10/24-10/30

118 days until the Disney Princess Half Marathon!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Spin class survivor


I survived my first spin class today. No, that’s a lie. My first ever spin class was taken about 6 years ago when I lived in Florida and went to a ritzy (expensive) gym. I think I took one class and never went back. I don’t remember hating it, but it just wasn’t appealing to me. Exercise in general wasn’t appealing to me. Obviously.

When I started this triathlon journey, I planned to take spin classes once I brought my endurance up on the bike. But I kind of forgot about it. Mainly because once my endurance was up and I felt ready to take the spin classes, it was becoming so much nicer outside and I didn’t want to be stuck in the gym on a beautiful day. I’d rather be outside on my bike. This weekend I finally got around to doing a spin class. At 7:15 am. On a Saturday. I’m not a morning person.

Besides waking up earlier on a Saturday than I do during the week, I loved the spin class. The instructor was great and the 50 minutes just flew by. Well, not really. I specifically remember looking at the clock at 7:20 and thinking, Oh God, it’s only been 5 minutes. But after the initial shock to my system, it flew by. 

During one of the hill intervals, the instructor said “Dig deep, no one is getting you up this hill but you”. How’s that for a kick in the gluteus maximus? I’ll have to remember that one when I’m out there struggling to get up a hill.

I plan to go back for more spin classes. I really enjoyed it. I also will remember to wear my bike shorts. For some reason I thought a bike seat on a spin bike wouldn’t try to crawl up my butt and stay there. Live and learn, kids. Live and learn.

Do you take any classes at your gym?
What would you recommend?
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