Friday, September 23, 2011

Run #7.1 - I'm Back! + I'm Made of Muscle

Happy to be done with Pre's hills!
Last night I returned to the life of running in something other than a race. It's been a while since I just went out to run without a start and finish line involved.  Originally I was going to run earlier in the week but my leg had other plans. One night after work I got into my car, something near my tooshie kind of popped and my entire leg started tingling. Since that is the leg that had the IT Band issue earlier I thought, "You know, taking the night off is okay if it means preventing more injury!" So that's what I did. The plan last night was to go 5 miles. Once I started running I adjusted it down to 2 so I could have a gradual return. My knee was feeling kind of funky (which actually it has since Warrior Dash - I suppose running the Prefontaine Hills so hard didn't help it). I tried to slow it down a bit, yet still finished in under 20 minutes. That doesn't count the few times I did pause to stretch out my leg a bit. I was just really relaxed about it. No pressure on myself, just enjoying running on flat surfaces again.

One thing that pose a challenge was this house on a corner. As I was going by it I got an overpowering smell of chemicals - perhaps fertilizer or weed killer? Either way it sent me into a coughing fit. I had to stop and just try to breathe and cough it out. Not pleasant, and I might avoid that part of the neighborhood for a little while. Overall it was a really nice run. I've only got 2 weeks until the next half marathon, so I have to actually get serious this weekend on my long run.

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At swim class today I was awesome! I was so happy that I do all this work in the water. I hate doing abdominal work on the floor, but I really feel it in the water - and have seen my stomach get flatter as a result of going to this class 3 times a week! Our teacher asked us what moves we all enjoy the best. I mentioned that I liked "cross country" because it is the hardest and I really feel it all over .... I bet the grandmas just love me basically asking for more hard work, right?  Also I echoed one of the women when she said she liked the ab work. I went on to explain that I like doing ab work when we are on the noodles because it keeps my butt from trying to sink to the bottom of the pool.

Fast forward to later in the class. The teacher sees me having some issues with sinking or not staying steady. She mentions I might want to try heavier weights next time. Okay, will do. Well then we get to ab work, start going and I am doing okay, but still sinking. Then she says it, "Yep, you need to get the higher resistance weights. It's all of your muscle that's making you sink!"  Nice!  I mean when in my life did I ever expect to hear anything remotely close to that??

So "Come Monday" (one of my favorite Jimmy Buffett songs, by the way) I'll be grabbing the blue weights instead of the yellow ones! Little does she know my arms are wimpy - this could be an epic challenge, and I am ready to accept!

6 comments:

  1. I love that you're seeing progress and kicking so much ass in your water class!

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  2. Wow, your muscle makes you sink...just like Jack. So very cool.

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  3. Jealous of your muscle building progress! You go girl! Also, sometimes it's nice to just go out for a run and not have to worry about pacing or mileage. That's what I do when I start to get stressed out over things. Major help.

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  4. Awesome feedback from your instructor! Great results you are getting!! :)

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