Hurts So Good???

Running class on Wednesday night was challenging for me to say the least. I had a late afternoon work meeting that ran long so didn't embark for home until 5:20. On an average day it takes me 15-18 minutes to get home and I was praying for 15 as I needed to stop home, feed and let out the dog, change, grab a snack, fill my water bottle and make it to the high school several miles away by 6:00. Luckily since Bill was working and I had mom duty I did have the foresight to arrange for our sitter to pick up the kids from Bill's sister's house and bring them home rather than me trying to do that too. Next week I am gonna one up that and bring my clothes to work, change here and head straight to class.

I gave it my best shot but I still ended up sliding into my seat at 6:05. I flashed back to my first period "Know Your Car" shop class my senior year of high-school. It was my first period class and I am embarrassed to say I was late to it more than I was on time. Fortunately since we are all adults in the class they are a bit more forgiving as everyone can relate to job and home life demands delaying you.

Our guest speaker was from Marathon Sports and talked about proper shoes for foot types, running attire and last but not least Body Glide (a lubricant for the skin to prevent blisters and chaffing). It sounds a bit odd but I consulted with Bill and he is the proud owner of a container of it.

After the speaker wrapped up we headed outside for warm ups and were broke up into groups dependent on our mile time the previous week. We took off like a herd of antelopes (this was our name by the way -- the antelopes) and were instructed to do 3 - 5 minutes of brisk walking and then do our 2 minute run/3 minute brisk walk for a total of 15 minutes. I noticed a few things immediately:
1. When running in a group it is hard not to feel sort of competitive in that if you are in the walking portion of your run and a classmate runs by you, you have to fight the urge to run after them! I had to keep telling myself "this isn't a race Carol, there are no winners or losers, listen to YOUR body." It was an internal struggle for me the entire 30 minutes!

2. It is tough to run in a big group particularly when friends are in the class together because they walk/run side by side and fill up the entire width of the track and some are just downright oblivious to faster runners/walkers coming up behind them. There were several times I had to detour off the path and on to the grass which at this point is still a bit treacherous with patches of snow, water and ice. Lesson for me was just like you drive defensively and are frequently checking your mirrors and blind spots so do you need to do this in running both for the safety of you and your fellow runners and also out of politeness.

3. Last but NOT least -- running outside is HARDER (for me) than the treadmill at the club. It was hilly, curvy and the cold air made my lungs burn. No one told me this would be easy but it came as a bit of surprise for me how different an outside run felt from an inside one. Bill tells me this too shall pass as I spend more time outside running rather than in.

It seems running has awakened a muscle in my right hip area I didn't know I had -- my "IT Band." While it doesn't hurt when I run it sure hurts right now when I am cooled down and my muscles are tight. All the sitting I do at work makes me really stiff and sitting with my feet reclined at home makes it stiff too. I learned some good stretches for it and it may get worse before it gets better but I will forge forward. As long as it doesn't hurt while I run I am told it is o.k.

My summary of running so far then -- hurts so good -- oh heck yeah the physical gain and rush you feel from running way outweighs the pain in my leg right now.

Tomorrow (Saturday morning) we are supposed to have a run around Lake Harriet. The weather here however is pretty wintry so I am not sure I will partake in it -- I don't want to risk slipping and getting injured more than anything.