(no subject)
On Saturday there was a chance of rain, so instead of going for my usual run in Central Park I opted to stay in for my work-out. That evening I did about forty-five minutes of strength-training exercises with my freeweights at home, then I added on about ten minutes of jumping-jacks and jump rope exercises to get a cardio blast. Then I had another brilliant idea: I live in a seventeen-storey building; why don't I do some stairclimbing? So up and down the stairs I ran, and after I was done I felt like I'd had a pretty decent workout.
The next morning I discovered that the previous evening's rain had cooled off the city from its horrid heat wave, so I thought it would be the perfect day for a run. My calves were a bit sore from the day before, but I was in no serious pain. I headed to the park and in surprise discovered that once I stopped walking and started running my legs didn't hurt at all anymore. With the weather being so cool, I had a great run and felt fabulous. But the moment I stopped running, my calves began to ache. By the time I made it back home, I was hobbling.
I did a few stretches and then hopped in the shower, hoping the warm water would soothe the pain a bit. But for the rest of the evening I could barely move. I couldn't walk without hobbling; I couldn't cross my legs; Chris tried to massage one of my calves but even the slightest touch was agonizing. It was the worst delayed-onset muscle soreness I've ever had, and it's supposedly attributable to things like running down (not up) stairs. Apparently the combination of stretching out the muscle when going down the stair and bringing that stretch to an abrupt stop when your foot hits the next step is what causes the soreness. And boy did I have it.
Needless to say, I didn't do much for the rest of Sunday. Yesterday I was still in a lot of pain, although, idiot that I am, I still wanted to try to run. But I took a few trial strides down the hallway and quickly found out that that plan was not going to work. I spent the rest of the day icing my legs and doing some small stretches here and there. I walked a mile, very slowly, because I'd read that you need to work out sore muscles so that they don't lose their range of motion; plus, the blood flow to the area can help relieve some pain. In general, however, I took it easy.
This morning I woke up feeling like crap because I'd missed a day of working out (I hate missing days. I feel just wretched when I do). But my legs still hurt a bit, so I decided that I was going to do some strength-training that wouldn't work my calves too hard and maybe go for a walk. This morning I did some strength-training, and then I walked over to the park to walk around the Reservoir. Honest to goodness, I really did mean just to walk, but once I got there I thought to myself, "I'm feeling a bit better; let me see if I can make a lap." I took it slow, but just like on Saturday, my legs actually hurt less when I was running than when I was simply walking. I made the full lap, and I feel mentally and emotionally better; my legs are doing okay too. With any luck by tomorrow I'll be back to normal again - and I'll remember that, the next time I feel like stair climbing, I'll run to the top but take the elevator back down. Sheesh.
The next morning I discovered that the previous evening's rain had cooled off the city from its horrid heat wave, so I thought it would be the perfect day for a run. My calves were a bit sore from the day before, but I was in no serious pain. I headed to the park and in surprise discovered that once I stopped walking and started running my legs didn't hurt at all anymore. With the weather being so cool, I had a great run and felt fabulous. But the moment I stopped running, my calves began to ache. By the time I made it back home, I was hobbling.
I did a few stretches and then hopped in the shower, hoping the warm water would soothe the pain a bit. But for the rest of the evening I could barely move. I couldn't walk without hobbling; I couldn't cross my legs; Chris tried to massage one of my calves but even the slightest touch was agonizing. It was the worst delayed-onset muscle soreness I've ever had, and it's supposedly attributable to things like running down (not up) stairs. Apparently the combination of stretching out the muscle when going down the stair and bringing that stretch to an abrupt stop when your foot hits the next step is what causes the soreness. And boy did I have it.
Needless to say, I didn't do much for the rest of Sunday. Yesterday I was still in a lot of pain, although, idiot that I am, I still wanted to try to run. But I took a few trial strides down the hallway and quickly found out that that plan was not going to work. I spent the rest of the day icing my legs and doing some small stretches here and there. I walked a mile, very slowly, because I'd read that you need to work out sore muscles so that they don't lose their range of motion; plus, the blood flow to the area can help relieve some pain. In general, however, I took it easy.
This morning I woke up feeling like crap because I'd missed a day of working out (I hate missing days. I feel just wretched when I do). But my legs still hurt a bit, so I decided that I was going to do some strength-training that wouldn't work my calves too hard and maybe go for a walk. This morning I did some strength-training, and then I walked over to the park to walk around the Reservoir. Honest to goodness, I really did mean just to walk, but once I got there I thought to myself, "I'm feeling a bit better; let me see if I can make a lap." I took it slow, but just like on Saturday, my legs actually hurt less when I was running than when I was simply walking. I made the full lap, and I feel mentally and emotionally better; my legs are doing okay too. With any luck by tomorrow I'll be back to normal again - and I'll remember that, the next time I feel like stair climbing, I'll run to the top but take the elevator back down. Sheesh.