It was a run.

On Saturday, while at my mom's in Indiana County, I had one of what is likely my last runs there. I did not think about it at the time, but now I realize the significance of it. :-(

From the first step, my left calf hurt. I have been having some problems with it, where at random times I get a sharp pain that tends to last just a minute or two. Because of the pain, I started off running really slowly, wondering if I was hurting myself doing so. But after a few minutes, the pain subsided. I never picked up my speed a whole lot more, but I was okay with that.

I am not sure how far I ran. I ended up lasting for about 33 minutes. My guess is that I ran around 3 miles (I certainly was not doing a 10-minute mile). On a positive note, running up the biggest hill in the neighborhood was not awful. It went better than the steeper, though not nearly as long, hill in my neighborhood. Once I made it to the top, I felt not too bad.

I am glad I ran Saturday morning when the temps were in the low 70s. If I had waited until Sunday, the temps would have been close to 80. I certainly did not want a repeat of last week.

All in all, I am happy with the run. I hope to run during this coming week. We shall see.

Took a week off

Last week, it was quite humid. I had planned to run on Wednesday or Thursday, but between the weird pain I have been having in my right calf and the sticky weather, it did not happen. I still manged to walk a few days during the week, but nothing like usual (walks every day at lunch and walks every evening with Bailey), partly because my leg was hurting and partly because I was busy at work and had plans one evening. In any event, I was headed to my mom's again this past weekend, but rather than run before I left on Saturday, I decided to wait until Sunday and run there (plus the grocery trip Saturday morning got in the way). It had been too long since I had run there (I think, since last October).

My mom's neighborhood is much less hilly (grade-wise) than mine. There is only one really bad hill, and then three or four okay ones. But for whatever reason, they seemed easier than my run in my neighborhood, which contains one awful hill and one almost as bad, but not as long, hill.I actually recall struggling more with the first hill the last time I ran than I did yesterday, so there is that!

My original goal was to run for about 20 minutes, since I had not run for a week. Then when I started, I decided I had better shoot for 25. By the time I finished, I had run just over 30 minutes. I did not "measure" my run, so I cannot be sure how far I ran, but I am guessing it was close to 3 miles.

At one point when I was running up a hill, a guy in his yard said, "That looks like work." And I said, "It sure is." I tend to vacillate between love and dislike for running. I almost always start out pumped up, feeling good, even smiling, but the feeling fades pretty quickly. Yet, when I am nearing the end of a run, I almost always feel as if I could keep going, but I tend not to want to run a lot more than 30-couple minutes. Since I did not think I would make it past 25 minutes, I decided to stop at 30. Plus towards the end of my run, the sun came out, and it was already humid (the temps were in the low 70s, which helped).

At one point in the run, I noticed my three "normal" pains--the left hamstring, the right knee, and the right calf. But it was never awful. In fact, I don't think my calf as hurt so much since. Maybe I worked it out of my body. Let's hope, because I would really like to be able to run once this week.

Steps, walking, swimming and other things

This past week continuing through today, I have had various forms of exercise.

Today I ran the 65ish steps 20 times, for grand total of 16:01. Not my best time ever, but one of my better times. The temps were in the low 60s, and it was cloudy, so I was a bit chilly. Not that I am complaining! I think I was relatively pain-free, so yeah.

Yesterday and Saturday, I walked around my mom's neighborhood in Indiana County with her and my kid. Not a fast pace, but some exercise nonetheless. We walked between 30 and 45 minutes each day. The temps were in the upper 50s, maybe even 60 on Saturday and definitely in the 60s on Sunday. Sunny both days. Great walking weather.

On Friday, I started off with about seven minutes on the stepper. I used the weight machine to do some upper and lower body. Then I moved to the stationary bike and rode for 10 minutes. I followed that up with about 18 minutes on the treadmill where I started off walking for a few minutes then I alternated between short bursts of speed and walking and finished with a couple minutes of walking. Finally, I swam about 15 laps in the pool at a steady pace, throwing in a couple of faster laps for good measure.

Thursday I pretty much did nothing, other than a little bit of walking with the kids in the after-school program I volunteer for.

Wednesday the kid and I spent about three hours playing the snow and sun-filled sky. I probably shoveled for about 20 minutes. I was planning to swim but decided we had done enough.

Tuesday I did Zumba.

I think I gave myself the day off on Monday, but I don't really remember.

I feel pretty good about the level of activity. Unfortunately tomorrow I won't get to do my usual Zumba because I am going to an afternoon funeral, but presumably I will be back in the pool on Wednesday.

Moving on!

I ran!

After almost 2.5 months without a run, I finally got one in, in Indiana County. I originally planned to run for 20 minutes, since I knew it had been a couple of months since I last run. But after about 10 minutes into it, I decided to try to run my usual route to see how long it would take.

I need to verify that I ran 3.1 miles (it might have been a tenth or two more or less). But knowing it was at least close to 3 miles and doing it in just over 31 minutes, I am calling it a success. It is good to know that Zumba and swimming keep me in pretty good shape.

Literally two steps into the run, my left knee hurt. Soon after my right foot hurt. Not long after that, my calves started to bother me, and during the last mile, my left foot hurt. Even though it sounds like a lot of pain, nothing hurt me too badly, and I completed the run in the sun without stopping, so yeah, me! I really need to get a new pair of shoes, however. I am thinking I have been running with these for about a year (I need to check the old posts), but considering how infrequently I have been running, I would think they still have some life left in them.

My guess is I won't be writing a running post again for another month or two, but you never know. I have been swimming 1 to 3 times per week as well as doing Zumba once a week, so I have not been completely lazy. :-)