Friday, January 20, 2012

Hello My Name is Rain and I am an Addict

I am addicted to cardio, sweating, and mental anguish from exercise.

What I have learned this last week since I have been running a lot less, and now for the next week not at all, is that I thrive on exercise. If I don't exercise I feel like crap, I feel tired, I feel anxious, I can't sleep well, I ruminate about my aches and pains, and I obsess about eating carbs.

Yesterday was my first day running after 2 days off. It was a hard run for me. I felt like I couldn't catch my breath, my calf/shin were hurting along with my knee (?). But I felt like I was flying! It was like a mental vacation, and seriously I imagine this is how a drug addict feels when they take drugs after a few days hiatus. (Ok, maybe not but close!)

But....afterwards I was a TRAIN WRECK! My whole body was screaming at me. Every muscle ached, my back hurt, both my calves hurt, my shins hurts, my ankle hurt...and I realized my body needs a break from running PERIOD. No ifs and or maybes. No cutting down miles, I need a complete break. Though mentally, emotionally I was in a better place, physically I was not.

The ART guy I have been seeing says I should still run, that my "injuries" aren't that bad. And he said to run through the pain as long as it wasn't shooting pain. Well, I tried yesterday running through it and my body said no. Actually my body said HELL NO!

My dilemma is now...how can I get out this need for sweat and cardio? (So I don't yell at people, so I don't gain 20lbs, so I can sleep at night, etc...)

Well today I tried the elliptical. And hallelujah it was GREAT! I struggled a bit, I sweat (boy did I sweat) and most importantly it didn't hurt! YEAH!!!!!!

I have a friend who will let me use her apartment gym on weekdays, and I am going to search craigslist today and see if I can find a cheap elliptical to use at home. I need something and this might just get me through this running rut. And I am thinking this will be a good time to do more yoga, and more core.

Thank you elliptical, you gave me my sanity back today. I hope we can spend some more quality time together in the next week.

3 comments:

  1. I am glad you had a good workout on the Elliptical! It's a great way to stay in shape as you use a lot of the same muscles as you do when you are running and simulate the running motion.

    I can relate to the cardio fix. I missed my swim this morning because I wasn't feeling well, and now I am both grumpy because I haven't worked out and not feeling well. At least it's Friday!

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  2. YAY for finding alternatives that WORK! I need to figure out access to an elliptical...especially since I don't really like riding my bike in the dark in the rain :P

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  3. We have an elliptical in our garage. It is a savior!!!

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