Two Saturdays ago I went to a different spin class than I normally do. The spin teachers at my regular gym rotate every other week, and one is good and the other plays horrible music and is silent the whole time. So I decided to switch it up and go to another gym on the week when the not-so-good teacher is there. Let me tell you, this teacher nearly killed me! I should have known something was up when she walked in and her arms were killer. Sign #1. Sign #2 was that several people in the class asked where the coldest part of the room was (as in where the most fans would be hitting you at all times) and luckily for me, I was parked on the coldest bike. And the 3rd sign was that she told us she was teaching a 6am spin class on Thanksgiving. Crazy, I tell you.
So the class started out normally, with some jumps and hills and whatnot. The music was medium; she found some odd techno remixes of old rock songs, but then mixed in some new songs too. But then she started getting crazy and forcing the class to do hundreds of bike push-ups and arm raises and arm crosses and all sorts of other arm things and mine were on fire.
Brutal.
I will not be at the class at 6am on Thanksgiving, but I am thinking that if I ever want awesome arms, I will have to make this class part of my rotation!
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Back on the injured list.
Well, I'm bummed to write this post, but it's probably better get my frustrations out here instead of complaining one more time to Chris about how much I want to be running...
After my half marathon three weeks ago, I had some pain along the back of my hamstring. I did some research online and found a forum where another runner had the same pain, and it was basically just a strain from overuse. It makes sense, because the half I ran had a ton of downhill and some uphill, and I hadn't trained much on hills, so I wasn't too worried about it. I did some yoga and tried to stretch it out a lot, then headed back out to run.
But now I'm having some serious pain on the inside of my foot, near the arch, and going up to the inside of my ankle. I took all of last week off from running, and just did cross training instead, but when I got on the treadmill yesterday, it started aching again at mile 3. So frustrating! I don't know what the exact problem is, but I'm taking another few weeks off to try and let it rest. If I still have the pain then, I think I will try to go back to my sports medicine doctor to see what he can find.
Aside from that, things are good. I had training last Friday to volunteer at Salt Lake County Animal Services, and then I spent an hour hanging out with some cats that afternoon. It is going to be such a fun thing. I basically get to brush, play with, and pet the cats that are in the shelter, and talk to people who come in to adopt them about what kind of cat will best fit in their home life. It works out well for me too, because Chris is gone a lot at school, so it's a good way for me to stay involved in things and not just sit at home and be sad and wish I was running. So that's what's on my agenda for tonight - hanging out with some cats and cross training!
After my half marathon three weeks ago, I had some pain along the back of my hamstring. I did some research online and found a forum where another runner had the same pain, and it was basically just a strain from overuse. It makes sense, because the half I ran had a ton of downhill and some uphill, and I hadn't trained much on hills, so I wasn't too worried about it. I did some yoga and tried to stretch it out a lot, then headed back out to run.
But now I'm having some serious pain on the inside of my foot, near the arch, and going up to the inside of my ankle. I took all of last week off from running, and just did cross training instead, but when I got on the treadmill yesterday, it started aching again at mile 3. So frustrating! I don't know what the exact problem is, but I'm taking another few weeks off to try and let it rest. If I still have the pain then, I think I will try to go back to my sports medicine doctor to see what he can find.
Aside from that, things are good. I had training last Friday to volunteer at Salt Lake County Animal Services, and then I spent an hour hanging out with some cats that afternoon. It is going to be such a fun thing. I basically get to brush, play with, and pet the cats that are in the shelter, and talk to people who come in to adopt them about what kind of cat will best fit in their home life. It works out well for me too, because Chris is gone a lot at school, so it's a good way for me to stay involved in things and not just sit at home and be sad and wish I was running. So that's what's on my agenda for tonight - hanging out with some cats and cross training!
Friday, November 15, 2013
Feeling nostalgic.
Last night, I went to Provo to visit my friend and see her new house. I decided to leave work a little bit early and go to the gym there instead of fighting more traffic at 5:00. I haven't been to Provo in awhile, and most of the time when I go, I have a specific event (visit a friend, go to a basketball game, etc.) so I usually don't have time to kill when I'm there. Last night I drove past my old house, which is on the way to the gym I used to go to, and I was feeling some serious nostalgia for the memories.
So as I was sweating it out on the stair climber, I was looking around my old gym and remembering how it all began for me. It was Christmas 2007, and I was seriously overweight. My sister asked if I wanted to run a 10K with her, and I couldn't imagine saying yes. The day we had to run the mile at school had always been the worst day of the year for me. It was hard and painful and I wanted no part of it. But then my dad chimed in and offered me a plane ticket to Oregon to run the race if I trained and signed up. That was more appealing, since I was a poor college student and always looking for a free trip to visit my nephews. So I looked at Hal Higdon's training program, and felt really overwhelmed. I honestly didn't think I could do it. The first few weeks of training were so hard. I could barely walk the amount that was on my schedule to run.
As I got a little more endurance, I ran my first 5K in Highland with my dad. It was reallyreally hard. But when I crossed the finish line, I got this rush of excitement and was so proud of myself for finishing and sticking with it. When I ran the 10K with my sister, it rained the whole time and I cried. But as I finished, I felt that same amazing feeling. So I started talking to my friends at work about other race distances, and they recommended a half marathon. So I signed up for the Salt Lake Half in 2008. At one point during that race, I seriously considered getting on Trax for the last 2 miles. It was hard. But I loved it.
I actually did one of my long runs with my work friend, Ashley, and we ran all around Springville. It was one of the hardest runs I ever did. I think that was partly because she is really speedy, and partly because she had run many more miles than I had, so her endurance kicked mine to the curb. I finished that run and was driving home and passed a McDonald's. I stopped there and got the biggest Diet Coke they sold and sat in my car for about 20 minutes, trying to recover.
Since those days, I can run a half marathon without feeling like I might die. In fact, it has become my very favorite race distance. I trained for the St. George Marathon in 2009, but due to a knee injury, I couldn't run the race. I had to take close to a year off, just focusing on healing and low-impact exercise, and met with four different doctors in hopes that they would have an answer. No one did, but as I continued to lose weight and follow their advice, I was able to train for 4 more half marathons and run them pain-free. I might never get to run a marathon, but who knows? I am just excited to see what is ahead in my running life.
Wellington II (where I had some of the best and worse roommates of my life!)
So as I was sweating it out on the stair climber, I was looking around my old gym and remembering how it all began for me. It was Christmas 2007, and I was seriously overweight. My sister asked if I wanted to run a 10K with her, and I couldn't imagine saying yes. The day we had to run the mile at school had always been the worst day of the year for me. It was hard and painful and I wanted no part of it. But then my dad chimed in and offered me a plane ticket to Oregon to run the race if I trained and signed up. That was more appealing, since I was a poor college student and always looking for a free trip to visit my nephews. So I looked at Hal Higdon's training program, and felt really overwhelmed. I honestly didn't think I could do it. The first few weeks of training were so hard. I could barely walk the amount that was on my schedule to run.
I spent a lot of time here.
As I got a little more endurance, I ran my first 5K in Highland with my dad. It was reallyreally hard. But when I crossed the finish line, I got this rush of excitement and was so proud of myself for finishing and sticking with it. When I ran the 10K with my sister, it rained the whole time and I cried. But as I finished, I felt that same amazing feeling. So I started talking to my friends at work about other race distances, and they recommended a half marathon. So I signed up for the Salt Lake Half in 2008. At one point during that race, I seriously considered getting on Trax for the last 2 miles. It was hard. But I loved it.
I actually did one of my long runs with my work friend, Ashley, and we ran all around Springville. It was one of the hardest runs I ever did. I think that was partly because she is really speedy, and partly because she had run many more miles than I had, so her endurance kicked mine to the curb. I finished that run and was driving home and passed a McDonald's. I stopped there and got the biggest Diet Coke they sold and sat in my car for about 20 minutes, trying to recover.
Memories.
Since those days, I can run a half marathon without feeling like I might die. In fact, it has become my very favorite race distance. I trained for the St. George Marathon in 2009, but due to a knee injury, I couldn't run the race. I had to take close to a year off, just focusing on healing and low-impact exercise, and met with four different doctors in hopes that they would have an answer. No one did, but as I continued to lose weight and follow their advice, I was able to train for 4 more half marathons and run them pain-free. I might never get to run a marathon, but who knows? I am just excited to see what is ahead in my running life.
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