Back on the Saddle

So now that the ill has left the house, it took me some doing to get back into the swing of things at the gym.

Why?

Because the new gym opened. You know the one that was supposed to open Oct. 1, but construction delayed it by a month.

Well it's open now, and it gorgeous. A little overwhelming but gorgeous nonetheless. Its also more crowded. I don't particularly like crowds.

I don't mind crowds if I know the people I'm with, but I'm not a fan of strangers. I get a little self-conscious. Especially at the gym.

So when I went back last week, it was wonderful and kind of dreadful at the same time.

That first day I did squat. I did do stuff, but it was like going around buffet and sampling some of everything.

Then I went to my first aquatic class. LOVE! I can't wait for tomorrow's class. I hurt {a lot} after it. Mostly my toes (I need aqua shoes), my ankle (I came down on it wrong during one of the exercises) and my obliques. Those jumps and twists are really felt afterward, but I'm such a water baby that I'm not giving up on this class.

So today I went back to get a run in. I would have liked to run outside but that wasn't in the cards. I couldn't find my jacket. Then I had no babysitter, so off to the treadmills I went.

The gym was wonderfully uninhabited today . There were people there, but it wasn't the crush that it had been during the week. So I dumped the kids off at the kids club and went off to find my bliss on the treadmill.

I punched in a 5k run and took off. Then I started getting some discomfort in my knee and my hips, so I slowed it down and walked it off. Then sped back up. After a bit, I had another cramp. Damn, I knew I should have eaten a better breakfast. So I backed it back down again, and walked that off. Much to my chagrin the cramp did not leave me and I couldn't figure out why. I also couldn't figure out why I was so out of breath while going 3.5 mph.

A look to my screen solved that. There was a 1.5% incline. WTH? Apparently I had chosen a nature path for my 5k that included hills and the like; which is fine, but I wish I'd known. I don't run hills, I take them easy because I have bad knees. Like, seriously, bad knees. They like to dislocate. I am not trying to injure myself here, so yes, I baby my knees. So I walked. As the incline reduced, I sped back up to 4.5 mph, but the damage was done. I decided to call it a day, rather than push myself.

In the end I ran 2.04 miles in 31:27. Not my fastest, not my farthest, but I'm not displeased with myself. Its been a while since I've run because of the things going on the house the last few weeks. I am disappointed that I didn't finish, but cest la vie. I'll get there.

In the mean time, I'm going to grab a shower, do some laundry, sew up some pillows and impatiently wait for tomorrow's aqua fitness class. :)