Yep, Tuesday was a busy day…
I woke up determined to work out, and after killing enough time at home to keep an eye on Lily (she still throws up at times *sad face*), I finally made my way down to our gym.
I hadn’t attempted to run for the last week and a half, since the last attempt brought a surprise: pain on my left forefoot. Yep, that’s the same foot that deals on and off with plantar fasciitis. Fun times. That day, I stopped the run right away (even though mentally it was a good day, damn it!), because I’ve had enough injuries to know when it’s just stupid to go on.
Today, sadly, was a bad day for running. I put on my best cushioned shoes (instead of the Nike Frees I’ve been wearing to the gym lately) and went for an interval run.
But it was one of those days that I just wasn’t feeling it. My body just felt blah. So I did 10 minutes of intervals (and even those weren’t that fast), and walked for another 10 minutes. Maybe a good thing, because my infamous hip injury that no one knows what it is flared up tonight. Fun times.
To acclimatize to the heat, I kept the AC off and opened up the windows (probably another reason why the run wasn’t easy). REALLY hard to keep on running when you keep staring at the pool…
After 20 minutes, I was a bit sweaty, but not ready to call it quits just yet!
So I attacked this…
And this… (Don’t be too impressed, the weights I actually used are all the way on the left side of this picture. So far to the left that it’s not even showing here…)
And a workout it was! I even added squats to my bicep curls, and hopped on the step (is that what we still call that step thing from the 90’s?) during my triceps dips. I attempted to unsuccessfully do pushups (and to think last year around the marathon time I had finally conquered real push ups instead of the girly version…), but did so many different weight workouts that hopefully soon enough I’ll have my body back in shape. Everything is harder when you’ve been carrying on all these extra pounds…
An hour later, I was finally done – I even remembered to stretch for a change. My face was red, my clothes were soaked, but it was worth the reward!
What reward? The pool, of course! I HAD to take advantage of it! So I spent the rest of the afternoon dozing off here… Can you believe it’s only the second time I go to our pool? Talk about taking it for granted!
To complete my day, I decided to finally join the Bikram Yoga studio a couple of blocks from me. The place costs a fortune (waaaay more than the one I went to in Virginia), but if I go there 3 times a week, it’ll be worth the cost.
Of course, once there I remembered how much I actually hate it. But heck, it helped me with marathon training (I was the one who was the least bothered by the heat among all my friends who ran Chicago – missing my goal by only 7 minutes, since I walked a bit after mile 19 out of sheer boredom), so it should definitely help me acclimatize to the heat in the Philippines. I used to go to Bikram to help me be a better runner (the heat and stretching are never a bad thing).
So I am sticking with it. Even though today was HARD. I kept getting dizzy. I had to take breaks during the standing poses, and though my Alexandria studio would encourage drinking water when you needed to (as long as it was in between poses), and using the hand towel to grasp your sweaty foot better if you needed the help (he claims that even Bikram does that), here they frown upon it. I mean, I got yelled at by using my hand towel to wipe the sweat off my eyes in between poses. Uh, I couldn’t open my left eye, it was so soaked.
So yeah it was a very unpleasant experience, and amazing how out of shape I’ve become. The first time I did Bikram, almost a year ago, I found it to be torture, but I didn’t have to take any breaks, and now, look at me… *sigh*
If only I could find a friend to go with me to keep me motivated! It was easy in DC, since Kathy never said no to Bikram (the girl is crazy and take classes back to back).
Have you tried Bikram? Love it or hate it?
I don’t think I would do well with Bikram, I hate the heat. That’s funny, I was talking to my cousin about it today, she was talking about how it was a great workout.
Sorry to hear your puppy is still sick a bit. And good for you for working out, and rewarding yourself with pool time!
The heat in Bikram is extra hard since you’re doing all this core work at the same time.
Yeah, Lily still throws up, her stomach is still very sensitive. Poor baby!
Never tried Bikram myself! I think if you have a nice
climate controlled gym at your disposal, you should not
do silly things like try to heat acclimate on your run! If you’re struggling to get motivated, you should set yourself up for success, and tackle the harder things later, when you have gotten into a rhythm. Make yourself comfortable and enjoy the experience so you will want to do it again! Leave heat training to yoga and the sauna 🙂
Those are my two cents, anyway! Good luck!
You might have a point… The gym is not really climate controlled though, you have to turn the AC on yourself when you arrive, so it takes a while for it to get nice and cool. But I did skip that step and opened the window instead…
I think if I keep up with Bikram, I won’t have to suffer as much on my time at the gym and can enjoy the AC instead!
Carla you are a very determined woman. I think I did good today just doing my walking on a machine. It was humid in Forks, today.
Congratulations way to go.
Awesome workout day! I cannot believe you have only been to the pool twice! It seems these days, all I do is dream of the water.
How is your foot and hip?
Both foot and hip are hurting 😦 The hip is because it’s still unknown to doctors, the foot is because I stopped doing the exercises and the ultrasound, and sleeping with the sock, as soon as it got better. My fault…
And yes, still only been to the pool twice. ACK!