Sunday, January 8, 2012

Cross Training

Well last week's "good week" turned into this week's shin splints so I had to turn to alternative forms of exercise.

 Monday:
My shin pain was mild at this point so I decided I would run 4 miles on the treadmill.
Monday was the day after New Years. The MADHOUSE at the gym was almost comical. Seriously, people?! I could barely get a treadmill. But I got one and started off on my 4 miler when I noticed a guy in the row in front of me was over 5 miles into his run, an 8:30 pace that he made look realllly easy and NO headphones. How do you do that on a treadmill? I really need that music to keep me going. As my run went on, so did that guy. He hit 6, then 7 miles. Before long, his machine stopped since it only goes an hour and I noticed he just started it right back up and kept running. Yep, I was kind of being a running stalker, but whatever, you gotta do something to keep you entertained when you're running on that hamster wheel, right? The guy ended up running about 8.5 on a Monday on a treadmill with no music. I was inspired. All of a sudden 4 seemed really weak. So I did 6.4. Felt great. Until I stopped. And my shins hurt. Quite a bit. Doh! Stupid, "inspired" me.

Tuesday:
So Tuesday was a spin class. I used to HATE spin classes. I could let go of the fact that they made my butt hurt for days, but for some reason they just seemed really grueling for me. But Tuesday there was this peppy instructor who had just spent all of her iTunes Christmas gift cards on some rockin' 80's music and she had some old Arnold Schwarzenegger body building movie on the big screens up front. It was fun. And it burned. Oh man my legs were burning so freakin' bad, it was ridiculous. And I liked it.

Wednesday:
I went to the crazy, insane, want-to-kill-myself-now circuit class that we go to almost every Wednesday night.

Thursday:
  I did spin again. And liked it again. And it burned like crazy again.

Friday:
Crazy, but I did another spin class. I get my heart rate monitor on and it helps me know how hard I'm pushing. It takes a LOT of burn in those quads/butt/hamstrings to get my heart rate even close to my normal running heart rate. I feel like it's doing some major strength training in my legs so it really helped me not feel so bad about not running. Also, I had my first women's basketball game Friday night (so happy to finally be in a stake that has women's sports!) and my shins felt ok after that so I decided it was a go to try running again on Saturday.

Saturday:
I did 7 miles on the treadmill and took it nice and easy. I tried to keep myself at a 9:30 pace, but I got kind of impatient and did a 8:40-something for the third mile and then an 8:30 for the last 2.5. My shins were really not so bad afterward so that was good.

And lastly, Becca- thank you so much for telling me about My Fitness Pal.
I did really good on the weekdays (this weekend has not been so good), but I'm totally determined to get right back on track tomorrow morning. That app is exactly what I needed so thank you, thank you!

2 comments:

  1. Wow! I knew you were doing some crazy workouts from your calorie burn posts on MyFitnessPal (which by the way I am so glad you are using and loving!!) Spin is a huge butt kicker and I seriously wish I had access to a spin class because that is such awesome cross training!

    That stinks that your shins are flaring up again. Have you tried using compression socks? I've been using them after my long runs and they are amazing! Like I seriously feel a very noticeable difference with all my aches and pains once I put them on. I usually wear them for a couple hours after my long runs and sometimes I wear them to bed. Highly recommend!!

    Also I'm going to put on my mothering hat for a minute and remind you to take it easy ramp up s-l-o-w-l-y. I know how tempting it is to up your mileage quickly, especially when you see crazy dudes busting out 8 miles without music on the treadie ; ) But when you make big mileage or speed jumps too fast you're opening yourself up to injuries. When I got injured with my first marathon my physical therapist told me to stick with the 10% rule and increase my mileage or speed by no more than 10% each week. You're in a great position because you still have almost 6 months before your marathon. Most formal training programs don't start till about 4 1/2 months out, so right now you can really focus on building a strong base and losing any extra pounds you want to get rid of. If you are doing solid 3-4 mile runs 3 times a week and then a nice 6-8 mile run on the weekends, then when it's time to start a formal 18 week marathon training program you will have a killer base and your muscles, joints, and ligaments will be in primed to increase your mileage. Okay mothering hat is off now ; ) Sorry if that sounded preachy, I've just had my experience with injuries so I'm always super conservative when it comes to training : ) You obviously know your body better than anyone and I'm sure the best thing to do is go with what feels right to you.

    Anyway, well I hope you enjoyed my novel of a comment! haha! Have a great week!!

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  2. p.s. Guess I didn't read through this before I posted so please excuse my typos! : )

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