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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

01/05 They have a club for this??

So...Mot (my hubby) and I belong to a gym that's really close to where I work.
I get us a discounted rate through work.

Win/Win.

It's a basic place....free weights, weight machines, all the cardio equipment, group classes, personal training. It's a small place, everyone knows each other, the locker room and showers are small but clean, and everyone who works there is very friendly and knowledgeable.

There isn't a pool, hot tub, or sauna, there isn't a cafe, there isn't an actual spin studio (although they do spin classes, you just have to wheel the bikes away from the wall of the ONE group class room), there aren't racquetball courts, and there isn't locker room towel service.

I've been going to the gym where my sister works quite a bit lately, as her "guest"....trying the place out.

We're going to cancel our memberships at the small place, and switch over to the larger. Mot wants a pool...badly. And I LOVE being able to work out and spend time with my sister...we don't get to do much of that with both of our busy schedules.

It's a nice place, but much more out of my way. Because sis works there, I can get a discount on membership....and that list of "does not haves" from my gym.....well, they have all of that and more.

One of the "more" is a run club.

Depending on the weather and the season, it's either inside or outside.

Last night I met with the group to try it out. They "roped" off a bunch of the treadmills (which is easier said then done this time of year) for us to use.

We started with some simple plyometric exercises down in the gym.

So...you know those shin splints that I had for 2 FRIGGIN' YEARS? After two docs, 1 specialist and three physical therapists, I finally got rid of them.

Yeah....one night of doing 10 minutes of plyometrics, and they are back. Full force.

(sigh)

Why can't my body be normal, like everyone else? I don't stretch, before or after my runs.....and these things, instead of helping, actually hurt. I'm backwards. :-)

Now I get to look like the "know it all" when I tell the run club coach that they actually make me worse, instead of better. I like to fade into the background...I like to be seen and not heard....I'd rather not bring attention to myself.

And now I need to.

Oh well...what's a girl to do??

So...after the session of pain (well, for me that is), we went back upstairs to the treadmills and did some 1K intervals. One at marathon pace, one at half marathon pace, and three at 10K pace, with 2 minute breaks in between.

I've run exactly zero marathons, 1 half and 1 10K.....so I took a general stab at what my pace is/should be.

I probably sweat 17 pounds away. With all of the "resolutioners" in the gym, the place is hotter than heck. :-)

After all the running I've been doing since May...you'd think 5 1K intervals would be easy peasy lemon squeezy...right?

Stupid treadmills.

(grumble, grumble)

:-) :-)

Will I go back? Yep! I need to go more than once before I make a solid decision on whether it's for me or not.

I mean, I did really well training for a half marathon by myself.

But
I really like the idea of running with other people. I've heard it makes the time go by faster....and I'd like to give it a try and see if it's true.

12 comments:

Brian said...

Plyometrics will definitely aggrevate shin splints...but they'll also make you faster and more efficient. If I've already given you this advice, I apologize. I dispense it liberally and I've lost track of who I've already dispensed it to.

When I went through bouts of shin splints in my early days of running, I used this exercise:

http://www.arunnersblog.com/the-toe-raise/

It's pretty simple and it worked very well for me. I haven't suffered from shin splints since I started doing it.

Another alternative is to put a can of vegetables in a sock, then sit on a table, grasp the top of the sock with your toes and flex your foot upward.

The idea with both exercises is to strengthen the muscles that control your ankle so they don't freak out and try to pull away from the bone when you run or do plyos.

Nej said...

So, do you think I should keep up with doing them. Wondering if they will eventually strengthen those problem areas, and won't hurt after a while? I'd really, really, really love to start running without compression sleeves, and wondering if doing something like this will help?

I'm so darned gun-shy about going back to where I was (pain wise), that I hate to mess with what's working for me now.

Although, getting faster and more efficient sounds dreamy! :-)

Jamie said...

Bummer about the shin splints! If you focus on the toe raises and icing you'll get stronger in no time! Sounds like the gym switch was a good move overall.

Faith Ann said...

Hmmmm, I enjoy running with a friend outside, but I'm not sure I'd enjoy group-treadmill work. I like to do my own thing and suffer in silence on the treadmill lol. (Actually, I like to work my way through seasons of tv on dvd while on the treadmill.)

I hope the shin splints clear up quickly!!

Faith Ann said...

Love the tabs!!

Nej said...

@ Jamie - yeah the new gym is nice....and hubby can swim...so I think it will definitely be a good thing!!

@ Faith Ann - I'm more looking forward to the outside group stuff. Treadmills, in general, stink. :-) :-)

And thanks!!! They are still a work in progress...but having fun getting everything set up! :-)

Fran said...

I think I would love to run with a group but only one that has the same goal. The running clubs here are just for running not training for a specific half.

And besides that I prefer to run alone. Especially after a busy day, it clears my head.

Nej said...

@ Fran - Running alone is all I've been doing since I started running in May...so I really don't know any different. I usually run in the mornings before my head gets all cluttered up....it's such a relaxing way to start a day. This run club meets in the evenings....so I'm not sure it will last, for that one reason alone. But, I'm always willing to try something new...you never know unless you try...right? :-)

Anonymous said...

While I like the idea of a running group, or even a running partner, I think I am ultimately only into running alone (although if my best friend suddenly moved to town we'd be running buddies)!! Having a group would help me keep from slacking off when I feel like it, though. No one wants to look like a slacker!

Nej said...

@ Lori - running alone is all I've really ever done or known. I'm not sure what I think about while I'm out there. I think there are times I just think about nothing...which is heaven! :-)

Jake said...

It seems everything becomes interesting when you get company no matter running outside or treadmills. Enjoy your club that is wonderful.

Nej said...

@ Jake - company always make the time pass a little more quickly. :-)