Now six days into my summer, and thus six days into my get-in-shape quest, I'm feeling pretty good about myself. I've worked out every day, and worked out hard, both cardio and lifting. I took yesterday off from lifting, which seemed like a good place, but still did cardio and felt stronger today.
Overall, I'm feeling a lot better already, but it's also interesting to chart the changes in my body as I get back in shape, and what my muscles feel like as I exercise. Am I tired because my muscles hurt, or because I'm out of breath? Noting that difference seems like it's important, but I'm not sure why. The one disappointment I've had this week is running. On Saturday, I ran a mile without stopping, then walked/ran for the next twenty minutes, completing a slow 2.2 miles in 30 minutes. On Monday, I ran for two miles without stopping, then took five minutes off to walk, then sprinted the last five minutes, completing 2.8 miles in 30 minutes. On Wednesday, though, I ran a mile and quit, opting for the non-pounding eliptical. Today, I managed just half a mile, then quit in favor of the eliptical. I'm just sore, and I'm trying to figure out if it's because I've added squats and deadlifts and calf rises to my workout regimen since Monday, or if I've just pounded my body too much. I'd like to get to the point where I'm running three miles fairly easily, with the option to push myself farther.
I'm also eating healthy - lots of vegetables - and my bathroom schedule is out of control; my stomach is also usually upset. This will pass.
Speaking of which, it's off to the bathroom.
Devout Sinners
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James V. Schall reflects on sin and faith: We recognize that it is a Church
of sinners. Just because one is a sinner, he is not therefore an
unbeliever. Of...
57 minutes ago
2 comments:
Since I decided to get serious about running I got my feet evaluated and fitted for shoes at a real running shop. It wasn't that cheap, but it's made all the difference in the world. Today, my first day of treadmill running after the break-in period, I almost couldn't run fast enough to keep up with my shoes. I was at 8.0 toward the end and thinking it was too slow. And the biggest thing is that my legs aren't sore and fatigued with my new shoes the way they were with my old ones. I was pounding Advil liberally a couple weeks ago about an hour after every run. Now I feel I can run after I run.
I'm also hovering around 26:00 for 3.1 miles on the treadmill, which is blazing for me (I am about a minute slower on the road though). I'd been stuck at around 26:30 for 5K because my legs would just get too tired. I'm getting pretty confident about the 5K race I'm going to run in a couple weeks now (confident when talking about the clock and not the competition... I'll be lucky to finish in the top half of finishers in the race, but I won't embarrass myself).
It's all because of the shoes. For real.
Thanks.
I am currently wearing $9 shoes and had really thought about it. I rpobably won't be able to swing anything real until the school year, but that's good because I've got to see if I can keep it up.
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