Lessons Learned: Just go!

I took a whole week off. In the middle of marathon training, right after doing the same distance long run that did me during marathon training last year, I took a whole week off. I felt sort of tired, but not particularly sore, and I had a little knee pain... so I got lazy and semi-justified taking a whole week off. I didn't set out to take a whole week off, but it just sort of happened. It turns out that was a bad idea. Bad.

I knew I had to force myself out of bed this morning for the Church of Sunday Long Run at Valley Forge Park, so I reluctantly and slowly got up and headed over to the park. Standing around before we ran, I admitted that I hadn't run all week, and it was increasingly apparent that we were going to have a small group today because of the holiday weekend. I also admitted that I would probably end up only running 5 miles instead of 10 because I knew it would be easy to quit after one loop on the Martin Trail at VFP. Terry suggested I follow him over to the Schuylkill River Trail instead to do a loop that was about 9 miles. My watch only measured 8.5, but that's fine with me!

We headed off toward the trail, and Terry and Rick ran a very slow warm up mile over to the trail so that I could keep up with them. Mind you, I had to run my little heart out to keep up, but I did. Ok, I may be exaggerating a bit there, but you get the idea. It is a very good thing they stayed with me to get me to the trail because I likely would have been deterred by all the "road closed," signs and construction equipment! Never mind those! We forged right ahead! Hahaha And we even passed an entire HS girls Cross Country team! Ok, exaggeration again. They were standing around stretching after their warm up, and they promptly left me in their dust once they started running.

It's a good thing that there was beautiful scenery because I hate gravel trails, and I had a really rough time after all those lazy days I took this week. I walked so much today that I'm really not sure that I should even say that I went for a run, but I guess I get what I deserve for being lazy and pigging out all week. It was so hot and humid that I almost considered taking my shirt off while I ran, and the only other time I felt that way was Labor Day weekend last year during my last long run before bailing on marathon training and skipping straight to the marathon! Yikes! I really got a taste of why I should not skip training runs, and I told Terry on one of his MANY paperclips back to find me (thank you!) that I will think of how I felt today every time I think about possibly skipping a training run again during this training season!! I mean, at one point, I thought there was an ambulance up head of us that's how bad this was! It turned out to be a horse trailer, but I wouldn't have minded an ambulance at the time.

When I finally made it back to the parking lot, I told Terry and Rick that my run was miserable, which Terry already knew, but he pointed out that I finished it, and for today that was all that mattered. Now from here on out, I need to keep training and make sure that finishing a short run like today's isn't the goal!! It's ok to have an off-day in the sense of not having a good day, but there are training days and rest days. There is no more room on my calendar for taking-off-days!

Aerobic Step Class: Michelle Style

I have recently joined a new gym due to moving, so I am not completely settled in to all the classes I would like to take. I have taken a bit of a running break after the Joplin Memorial Run debacle, so classes are a great way for me to really push myself. The summer is apparently a wishy-washy time at this gym because trainers take turns covering classes while the normal trainers take vacations. I was so pumped to have an easy day while the normal spin instructor was gone, but had another bumpy ride when she returned. I have heard people around the gym, trainers included, talk about how crazy-intense Lori is in her classes. In true Michelle spirit, I met Lori today in Aerobic Step and Sculpt class.

I have been thinking that I would try Step class, but I wasn't sure because I don't have the best balance. I saw people in Step last weekend through the window, and it looked like SO MUCH FUN! I couldn't wait to go this week. I didn't make it on Wednesday thanks to PennDOT and their ridiculous DMV system, so I went in today ready to go. I made sure to get there early so I could try to scope out what supplies to get out and secure a spot in the back of the room. I kept waiting to see the instructor's equipment magically appear as it so often does before a class starts, but to no avail. When I saw other regulars I noticed from Spin go in the room, I started to feel pretty good about the whole thing.

I should not have felt good about the whole thing. The reason the instructor's things didn't magically appear was because the normal instructor was gone, and his substitute was the infamous Lori. She was like a combination of Jersey Shore and Billy Blanks. She immediately informed us to get the equipment she wanted us to have and told us that she does mostly advanced workouts, but she assured us that she would try to take it easy. After the class was over, she was so proud of herself for giving us a "piece of cake workout." Believe me, no cake. The combinations were hard, and she kept saying, "You gotta commit to learning  the sequence, people!" I tried my best, and despite falling over when she was teaching from the back of the room, aka putting me front and center with her, I think I did a pretty good job for pushing through my first ever Step class with an infamously intense trainer.

When she finally stretched us out, I was proud of myself for making it through. As we were putting our equipment away, she came toward me yelling, "You did it, Cookie! You made it through your first Step!" I had informed her that it was my first time when she asked my name before we started. I admitted that it was super hard, but lots of fun. Then she told us all that she was sorry for going a little over time because her classes are always an hour and fifteen minuets long to really get the cardio in. I looked at the clock a bit confused. I am bad with numbers after all, so I just assumed that I didn't know how to tell time. Then everyone in the room corrected her. The class, which is scheduled for one hour, lasted an hour and forty-five minuets today with Lori. Apparently, the universe is trying to pay me back for that whole, "Challenge yourself! Get out of your comfort zone to see results!" thing I posted yesterday.