I stopped logging my workouts on Daily Mile a couple months back. Fitbit syncs with Weight Watchers eTools, so I decided I’d just log everything there. The downside to ditching Daily Mile is Fitbit’s lack of any sort of feedback or commenting on logged workouts — i.e. I no longer really have an exercise journal anymore.
Well, it just so happens that I have my own online journal. Nyah.
Monday: Interval Run
I specifically called this an “interval run” in my Outlook calendar so I wouldn’t feel like a failure when I finally stopped to walk. I hadn’t run since my birthday — which was hard to believe, and also hard to pin down, since I wasn’t sure when I stopped using Daily Mile, and wasn’t sure whether I’d logged all my runs using RunKeeper (which I’ve also ditched). Anyway, yeah, almost three months since my last run.
My soundtrack was Spotify’s Running: Recommended For You playlist, the contents of which led me to the conclusion that The Cure’s early hits were all recorded at 160 bpm.
I ran a total of two miles (OK, 1.97), of which the first mile was straight running and the second was two-minute intervals (as seen in the screenshot above).
The DOMS began setting in that night and got a little worse the next day, but I was really feeling it by Wednesday. Quads, hammies, and lats, mainly. Just in time for…
Wednesday: Interval Run
I actually Googled “should i run when i’m sore” and got back a resounding YES from multiple accredited sources. (When it comes to DOMS, that is.)
On my way out to run, I happened upon Mel, who manages the Fitness Center, and she told me to be sure to take it easy in the 85° heat. I don’t need a reminder, but it turns out it was totally warranted.
My soundtrack was the Sam Harris audiobook Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion — or it was for the first few minutes, anyway, until my bluetooth earbuds ran out of juice. After that, it was (appropriately enough) silent and meditative running.
I was hot and sore right out of the gate, and had to cajole myself into not stopping. I had the Fitbit app cuing my splits every five minutes, so I convinced myself that I would only slow or stop on the fives. After just five minutes, there was no way I was going to let myself take a walk break already. At the ten-minute mark, I stopped briefly to stretch out my calves, which were waaaay tight, then got back to running.
Every time I wanted to stop, I asked myself: Why? What hurts so bad that you can’t run anymore — and if you do stop, what will you do to fix it and get running again?
Once I reached the 15-minute mark, though, I was seeing sparkles and my hands felt prickly, and I decided that was my cue to shift to a brisk walk. I continued walking for 15 more minutes, and worked on improving my walking splits. Near the end of the walking portion of the program, I started feeling sciatica in my right butt-cheek and into my crotch (which is one area I’ve never felt sciatica before).
I remembered to stretch before going back inside this time, which was probably half my problem with the DOMS from Monday’s run. –Or maybe not, since I woke up Thursday morning even more sore than I’d been before. Ibuprofen FTW.
I’ve been muscle-sore ever since, through Friday’s kickboxing workout and Saturday afternoon’s gardening and today’s kickboxing workout. I’m counting that as a good thing, though, since it means I’m building muscle, which is my goal in all this.