For those of you who do or do not know I joined the OC a month ago and plunked down another $30 smackeroos for a second month this week. I am very pleased that i seem to be progressing much much better than I did when trying to do it all outdoors.
I walk a lot a work usually a total of around 3-5 miles a day and adding another bit on top of that at the gym has really seemed to increase my stamina.
Advantages of the gym for marathon training are the following (as i see it) :
I get a fairly accurate count of the actual distance I am covering.
I get an accurate time count without interrupting the flow of the workout to unlock my phone to check the time
I have a variety of aerobic activity to complement the cross training i need to do - stair climbers, recumbent bikes, elliptical, treadmills.
I can make up my own version of circuit training via the weight machines that are steps away from the aerobic stuff.
I can plug the phone in for music, watch tv or prop a book up on the machine while i work out ..this lessens the chances of me pooping out due to boredom.
I truly am sweating due to exertion and not due to the G-damn humidity outside.
Also at the gym if I happen to be stricken with a double calf cramp (which mine are prone to do in the first mile and a half of a run) there is someone there to help me hobble to my car .
Enough about that ...how I am feeling ... I am pushing myself pretty hard but I also am doing it the smart way and avoiding injury. I do not subscribe to the NO pain NO gain theory. Sister if it hurts for too long I'm changing it up.
I have found that even with new shoes, orthotics and ankle supports I still am working on the right combo to keep my feet from going numb at mile 5 and my calves feel like branding irons are on them no matter how well i stretch for the first few miles. At least my body isn't doing to me what it did as a kid which is make me so violently sick after a mile that I get the dry heaves. Thank goodness for small miracles. The right combination on the shoes is out there ... I just have to find it. Wow that sounds like a really bad DnD quest. Yes young halfling you must find the "Comfy Shoes for Long Treks "
My body still has a soft layer of fat covering the muscle that I know is underneath there. This too will go away ...slowly. The other thing I am noticing is that I smell during my workouts ....whether this is due to old fat being burned away I don't know but prior to this training thing I would sweat and puff and huff ..but I really didn't stink to high heaven when I exerted myself. Thank goodness for portable body spray. I also get really tired after a good work out and i have to eat carbs to restore my blood sugar balance. Yeah the first time I didn't follow this rule was after my second day of 5K on the treadmill...I was freezing, hot and shaking with a headache all at the same time I thought I was getting the flu. Drink a bit of orange juice and I'm good as new LOL.
I firmly believe that if I keep this up I will be able to hop into a bikini for the first time in 15 years.
I am so thrilled that my Bliss Girl suggested doing this marathon.... it gave me a goal to kick me in the keaster for getting back to a healthy lifestyle. Overall I feel better and I can feel myself getting stronger and that is a good thing.
