Slight Change in Workout Plans

My stair machine broke four days ago. I was using it and I heard a popping sound, and then a few more popping sounds, and my feet both dropped to the bar. the cord that held the pully had snapped. I think I have a warranty that I bought somewhere in a box or file around here. I need to find it so Wal-Mart can replace this thing. Unless, of course, they consider using the stair machine as voiding the warranty. I am sure it has never been dropped or kicked or used for any reason other than its purpose.

Either way, my workouts have been moved out doors in the past few days. I'm now doing strength training entirely independently of cardio, because I don't have the stamina to run every day and not get too sore to move after a few days. I've been running every other day, which is miserable and reminds me why I got the stair machine in the first place, but effective none-the-less.

I've been doing running in intervals. The first work out was 10 two-minute runs with 1 minute of rest in between. It was a cool day and I was booking it; an 11 minute mile when three of those minutes were walking. The next time I ran I was eager to see if I could run at that speed without the rests. I can't. Even at 10 in the morning it had already gotten into the 80s and was shockingly muggy. In addition I was still dealing with soreness from the previous run and the allergies are ridiculous. I ran 1.2 miles (1 lap at the park) in 13.5 minutes with a significant slow down in the last 0.2 miles where the heat got to me and I was feeling my toast and egg breakfast start to come back up. It was all I could do to finish the lap. I'm disappointed, but I don't suppose I should be since I haven't run at all in 8 months and it was very hot and humid and I'm sure that the constant stream of snot running down my throat and out of my nose to blend with the sweat dripping off me didn't help in the slightest. I finished out the workout with intervals or running again.

I think I could make a 10 minute mile if the morning was nice and all I had to run was a mile and I'd had a light breakfast (eg. an apple and a piece of toast and tea with no milk).

Breathing has been fine both times, no gasping, no short quick breaths. I wonder if I could loosen the control on my breathing, if that would speed me up or slow me down.

That being said; neither workout was fun. I don't like running. It's not relaxing or soothing. It does not make me feel happy or refreshed or successful. It's only meditative in the sense of forcing yourself to focus on a single thing.

I suppose I should be happy that I can run a mile, or even 1.2 miles, since most people can't.

It occurs to me that when I returned from my first stint in Korea I could run three laps at this park without much trouble. And compared to that my present running ability and run time isn't great. But...when I look back at myself during that time...I had few friends, no confidence, I was often distressed, I felt like I had to workout had to run had to be beautiful through health. I just...wouldn't go back to that place for the life of me. Maybe I can't run 3.6 miles anymore, but I'll be damned if I'm not far happier with myself now and in a much better place than I ever was then.

. . .

I need to find that warranty.

This Constitutes That

I guess it's been about a week and a half since I did interval stuff, but I mowed the lawn yesterday and did a lot of potting and digging in my garden, and worked on the back yard. All together it took hours. I was so sore when I laid down last night. I'm counting that as my work out.

I'm trying to grow healthy food. I bought compost yesterday which I'm hoping will work as soil, though I'm concerned that it's holding onto too much moisture. If the plants don't sprout in the next week I'll get top soil and mix it in to ensure that it drains properly. Actually, I think I'll do that anyway, because squash is susceptible to root rot (I would know, it happened in my last garden).

I am also trying to eat healthy food/smaller portions again. But I will not spend my life hungry.

I am hoping to wake up bright an early tomorrow morning and see just how much damage was done by my hiatus. I will try 90 second breaks. I expect to look like someone who's having a heart attack when I'm done.

My sister said to me "it's good you don't care what people think of how you look when you work out." Yeah, I'm fairly sure that was a backhanded compliment, but I'll take it!

Take a Fall

Went and worked out again today.
It was pretty good for the most part. I made an endeavor to cut out the extended rests between my first and second sets of five (or cycles, as I do the things in cycles of five; two sets of side hopping-one on the left side and one on the right, one set of knee highs-like in soccer, and butt kicks-also like in soccer, and one of running). The final the cycle is mostly running.

It was pretty hot this morning, but I was at the track by, gosh, 8:30? It was pretty clear, because clearly only crazy people work out in this heat. I was feeling energized, and then about half way through my workout...

I tripped.

I splatted.

I think I bounced.

I laid there for a second assessing myself internally, making sure I hadn't broken or torn anything, then I got back up with a few bruises and a slightly bruised ego (lucky, that thing about there not being many people on the track this morning really worked in my favor) and finished my workout, albeit at a slightly gentler pace.

I also made sure to stretch extra well at the end.

And then, made a chiropractic appointment.

I'm still a bit sore but the chiropractor helped, I'm sure, and he also taught me an exercise to do to decrease shin splints. I told him about mine and since they're not getting worse he said that it's probably all just taking time healing from that first time I hurt them by wearing worn out shoes.

I have also begun to eat coconut oil. I'm trying to do that 1-2 tbsp a day thing (I hope it's not teaspoons...)

I also put it in my hair and am trying it on my skin. I'm convinced it made the skin on my face nicer. I hope to work out again tomorrow morning because I expect my cycle to start sometime between Friday and Sunday and I don't want to be surprised on the track by it because I didn't workout when I should have.

I'm thinking I'll have to take some pain killers though. Bodies do not like splatting on pavement, even if you're a tough-as-nails chick like me, haha.

Workout Two

Well, I woke up bright and early (before 7!) this morning, ate my apple and yogurt, had a glass of water, and headed out to the park with my new running shoes.
The shoes are Nike Air Pegasus 28, women's. They seem to have very good reviews online.

I completed my second workout and my first interval workout since starting this new attempt at fitness (note that I will not be saying thinness or loosing weight or any of those things that tend to send me into a panic attack of conditioned hopelessness).
I did 12 sets, 1 minute on, 1 minute of gasping, one minute off. Well, I joke, a little. Technically it was two minutes off, one minute on, with  the "on" minute being roughly 85% effort as my goal was to avoid nausea and cramps. I also walked for a while before the sets, half way through the sets, and after the sets. The distance covered was roughly 3.8 miles in just about an hour (give or take 10 minutes, I wasn't watching my watch very closely). I also stretched quite thoroughly afterwards.

I drank a bottle of water during the work out.

At home I had a homemade strawberry yogurt pop, black/peppermint tea with almond milk and honey, and showered.

Summery of aches and what-not:
I don't have new blisters on top of the blisters I got from my old shoes on Monday so that is awesome. In fact I didn't really notice any of the soreness from my feet until the very end.
My big toes are a little sore but they were very sore and blistered on Monday so I don't know if that's left from the old shoes or from the new ones.
The pads of my feet aren't "comfortable" but they're not in pain like Monday.
My heels feel awesome.
My pinky toes went numb at first but got circulation back not too long after that.
So far my hips and knees feel fine. My ankle feels markedly better than Monday AND Tuesday, and doesn't appear to have been hurt more by running on it again.
I have some general soreness but that's not surprising.
My shins hurt, they feel like they've been kicked. They were hurting on Monday, they are hurting more today. I'm wondering if drinking more water, icing them, running on the grass, or all three are in order. Will watch how my shins feel.

The shoes felt funny and I sometimes felt like I was trying to keep from overpronating with them but that could just be the new shoes. The wear on my old shoes showed a little bit of underpronation.