Run Seventy-Three: No really, a run! :D

I went for a run around the lake this evening --
it was such a beautiful evening! 

Patrick decided to stay home from the gym today on account of still being a bit sore from last week (he's starting to do a "heavy" week every couple of weeks where he'll lift higher weights for fewer reps and he over-did it a bit). It's an incredibly gorgeous evening here -- perfect temperature and sunny and clear -- so I decided to go for a run instead of going to the gym by myself. 

Especially as I'm a little creaky and sore my own self after Saturday's workout -- which didn't seem like that much more than the previous time, but absolutely tied me in knots. I figured it would be fun to run again and see if the weight-lifting is making anything like a difference in my running. I was maybe a little bit disappointed to find that it really didn't make a huge difference. Huh. I'd've figured that stronger legs would be good and the fact that I can deal with the Intervals of Insanity driving my heart rate up over 180 would help. 

Things I learned on this, my first run since July 22: 

• Running hurts my lungs in ways that lifting, and even the Intervals of Insanity, doesn't. I come home from the gym after a lifting workout absolutely soaked in sweat, having given everything I have to give, but I don't have the hurty-lungs-cough-post-exercise asthma (that I couldn't replicate for the allergist, by the way). One fairly easy run and I do. I'm not sure if it's the sustained work (though going on the elliptical doesn't seem to do it as much) or something about running specifically. Some experimentation might be in order. (Also some looking back over old posts to look for patterns.) 
• The custom arch support in my right running shoe, which was *fine* when I first started running, is now awful. It was really hampering my running because it felt like I was stepping on a stone in my arch for most of the way. Kind of miserable. I've actually taken it out and replaced it with the one that came with the shoe. 
• It wasn't as much of an "I'm taking it easy" evening as I expected -- that worked the hell out of my quads and calves -- but I don't feel like I worked nearly as hard in general, all over, as I would have lifting. Despite the fact that my lungs feel awful. 
• I should have done my usual post-workout stretches and foam rollering because I can practically feel myself tightening up. Sigh.

On the whole, I think the main lesson is that I'm  pretty happily in a weight lifting place right now. When/If I start running again, I definitely need to talk to the allergist about the post-exercise asthma thing because this lung thing is No Fun.

Next workout is scheduled for Wednesday. I expect I'll be lifting again, even if Patrick isn't going to the gym with me. I feel like I get more out of the weights. Goal for the workout -- rock Workout D, don't hurt, be awesome. 

Run Seventy-Two: And Other Stuff

I don't know why I'm sucking so badly at running
right now.

I went for my first run in a little over a week today -- it did not go well, though I did keep walking, and walking pretty fast, so I did get a decent workout. My hip started hurting while I was walking and it never really felt quite right. I'm not at all sure what's up with that. 

I haven't run in a while, but I haven't been slacking either -- we went to visit my parents over the weekend and went to her local gym twice while we were there. Small-towns are awesome, by the way -- the owner of the gym let us come in on Saturday, even gave us a key because no one was likely to be there when we went, without charging any sort of daily use fee because we were just using the cardio machines. Very nice. 

I went on one of the elliptical machines on Saturday, so Patrick and I could be next to each other. Also, I'm enjoying mixing things up, which may be part of why my running is getting worse. Though I'm not sure how much sense that makes. 

On Monday, I spent a lot of the time talking to the trainer at the small-town gym about what I want to do with dumbbells and weights. I didn't do full sets of anything, but did a lot of moving dumbbells around. Some of what I learned from her was really helpful -- good form for squats -- and some I'm keeping in my head for the future (the Cybex leg press machine is a beast). 

We did a lot of driving to get to my parents' place and back so maybe I'm just sort of congealed from  sitting all day yesterday and that's why running didn't go so well today. I'm glad I at least got out and moved around. And I didn't stop when my hip got a little hurty -- I just slowed down. That's a little bit of something anyway. 

(Note for my mother: Nothing is seriously wrong with my hip. It just got a little tired while I was walking, but I was walking pretty fast. It'll be fine tomorrow.) 

Next workout is scheduled for Saturday -- It's going to be a sort of a prep day. I'll do some cardio to start off (maybe 20 minutes or so), then I'll go through all of the strength-training exercises I'm planning on doing (there are two different workouts which I'll be alternating) to make sure I'm comfortable with what I'm doing. Also to get an idea of where to start as far as weights. 

(More detail on the two different workouts and the exercises I'll be doing after Saturday's prep session.)

Run Seventy-One: I think I just did an interval workout!

Not a best-best, but the best I've done in close
to two weeks, so I'm *pleased*. 

I think I did something like an "interval" workout today, at least for a few minutes. I was having a good but slightly frustrating run -- it's like all the endurance I've gained is just kind of fizzling out on me or something, which is kind of ticking me off. 

I have a hypothesis about this: The decline in my endurance (breathing-wise) started about when I started taking allergy shots for my chronic, perpetual dust (and other stuff) allergies. It seems possible that the shots are making me more sensitive to that, so my lungs are a bit more twitchy. I'll try to remember to ask my allergist about it next time I see him. 

In the absence of a lot of endurance, I decided to try something else today -- I went for as long as I could running, then walked as needed, then ran when I could for the first 25 minutes of my running time. For the last five minutes, I did something I've never done before: I ran faster than I ever have before (5.7 miles an hour or faster) for one minute, then walked at about 3.7 miles an hour (which is about as I can comfortably sustain) for one minute, then went fast for a minute, then walked, then went fast. 

I could probably have gone even faster for a shorter time, but I wouldn't have been able to keep it up for a minute, I don't think. Next time I'll see if I can go even faster. Or maybe do a minute fast and only 30 seconds of walking. Or something. 

That was really cool and left me feeling like I'd really worked out, which is utterly awesome! :D

Next workout is scheduled for Wednesday -- I might do the circuit thing on Wednesday, with higher weights and pushing myself a little more, because cool stuff is going on this weekend and I won't be able to. Goal for the workout is to rock the awesome! 

Run Seventy: Deliberately kept it kinda easy

I kept it around 4.3 mph for most of my
running, because I wanted to take a little
break.

I had thought that I might do the circuit-weight thing at the gym tonight rather than running, but when we got there I decided I'd run after all. I didn't want to push too hard though -- my legs are still tired and I seem a little more easily winded than I was a few weeks ago (in my long-ago heyday of 2.78 miles in my usual 40 minute run). It just seemed like the right thing to do, I guess.  

I've been simultaneously pushing awfully hard when I've been working out -- trying to push the pace every time, trying to increase the distance every time. But at the same time, I've been walking more rather than less, so to try and keep my distances up (and increasing), I've been pushing myself to walk uncomfortably fast, even when I'm warming up and cooling down. I think I'm outstripping the meager little base of fitness and strength I have (so far). 

(That's not even getting into how I'm totally ignoring my upper body, which is starting to feel unbalanced. But that's a different issue.) 

Anyway, I took it a little easy this evening and it was good -- I felt good while running, I wasn't watching the clock, and it was nice not to be pressuring myself about distance. I ran at a comfortable speed and walked at a comfortable speed and that was nice. 

Next run/workout is scheduled for Saturday -- I'm either going to do the circuit-weight thing or spend the time on the elliptical machine. A change will be nice. Of course, I thought that today as well, so it's always possible that I'll change my mind and run. Goal: Feel good, do well, sweat a lot!