This week I have learned a lot. I have learned that a $12 online training program may not be right for me. I have learned that my limits are not as far out as I would like them to be. I have learned that there is a thin line between feeling like a super hero and hating going to the gym. And I have learned that Mother Nature can be your best friend dressed as your worst enemy.
This week Runcoach had me starting the week with a speed run. It was suppose to be on Monday, but we had an ice storm on Sunday night, so I didn’t get to the gym until Tuesday. I should have moved right into the strength/cross training routine scheduled for that day, but I stubbornly persisted on following the schedule one day late. I was going to drop the easy run scheduled for Wednesday and do a cross training that day. I doggedly attempted to do the run because I knew it was too hard for me and I wanted to overcome that. Why? I don’t know. Because I felt as though I was wimping out in some way. And, I recently came across pictures of myself from last spring and was astounded by the difference. Yeah, back to that whole number thing again.
Anyway, long story endless, I attempted after a one mile warm up to up the pace to 7.2 miles per hour for one and a quarter miles. This works out to about an 8:30 mile, something I could do at the end of last summer, at least see. The thing is, I also hit an 11:30 mile during those same runs. But I thought I was teaching my body to hold a speed and to work through pain. I read that somewhere, that you have to learn to work through the hard parts. I’m not sure I’m learning anything, because most of the hills in Oreland are still hard for me. So, I did it for the first mile and a quarter. It was really hard and the one minute thirty second jog recovery time was simply not enough for me. But I pushed through and did the second mile and a quarter. And then I thought I was going to die. I also have caused some ongoing pain in my right leg. Now, in addition to some weird calf pain, I have pain on the top of my foot and my inner thigh hurts every time I am off of it for any extended time. Also, sneakers have been the only way to get through the day. I backed off both the times of speed running and the amount of time I was running it and finished the workout. Way beneath the milage and speed Runcoach laid out, but at least I finished. But my legs still hurt.
So Wednesday I did a light weight work out, and then biked it out for thirty minutes on the stationary bike. I have become a firm believer that biking has some type of magical quality that truly helps to heal my legs. I know it is the use of the muscles and blood flow, but really it feels like magic how much better my legs feel after even a stationary bike ride. I can feel my legs getting warm and the muscles sort of self massaging. It is great!!!
And yesterday, we had a snow storm. Now, I probably could have gotten to the gym before it started. I was awake and ready to go. But just as I was ready to walk out the door, I realized my husband’s car was blocking mine. I looked but couldn’t find his keys. And then I decided, that I would just go after work so I didn’t have to wake him. And because my leg was really hurting and I wasn’t sure I could do the run. And I didn’t really want to anymore. And then it snowed like crazy, and I wasn’t going to the gym anyway, so Mother Nature took care of that for me.
This morning, I am up and ready to try again. I know my body needs more than a mile to warm up, and my body, even after it is warm, can’t hit high speeds at the beginning of a work out and probably can’t maintain them for more than ninety seconds right now. I am not at the two minute mark yet, And from now on, I have decided to listen to my body over the $12 fitness plan. Because, as a friend pointed out, if it isn’t fun anymore, why do it?
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