Thursday, July 21, 2011

If Know You Have Great Legs, Clap Your Hands

I'm not afraid to say I know I have nice legs.  I've worked hard for my whole life to get these legs and from mid thigh down, I know they are pretty spectacular.  From the mid thigh through hip area is questionable and thus my fear of pants labeled "fitted through hips and thigh".

10 years ago, I started running.  It was my original intention when I first joined a gym, but it took me a couple of years to get there.  I figured I'd go to a gym, get in great cardio shape and start running and the rest would be history.

I started running quite a bit, and didn't love it.  I've waited 10 long years and I still do not love it.  I usually run about 3-4 miles at a time.  I do a lot of  5K races and I've done a couple of 10Ks too.  I have LOTS of race t-shirts that I wear for all sorts of sweat inducing activities.

I do love being DONE with a run. 

I love that I can run just about everywhere.  I've run in Belgium, Canada, various states.

I love that it's such a portable workout.

But I do not love getting ready to run.  I hate the first mile while my body gets to the "steady state" (this is the official term for the first 10 minutes that you exercise, when your body is getting into the groove and you hate everything and everyone and want to just rip off the head of the next person you see). 

I hate what runners always smell like when they are done, myself included.  It's like new sneakers mixed with polyester and something human.  It's just gross.  It's not sweat, per se. 

Most of all, I hate the fact that I've run for this long and still don't like it.

Some people would tell me to stop if I dislike it so much.  But I'm waiting.  Waiting for the magic day when I am like "WHOA RUNNING IS THE BEST THING EVER!!!"  I've had moments, usually after I have run hard and have recovered and I think it's pretty great.  But they are fleeting.  Very fleeting.

In February, I did an especially graceful twisting of my ankle.  It was a Saturday afternoon, people were driving toward me, I was windmilling all over the place.  I just couldn't let them see me go down.  So I caught myself and kept on running but it hurt.  And then it swelled.  And then I kind of forgot about it.  Then my heel/ankle started doing weird things and I thought I need to stretch it more.  But I think I overstretched.  And my chiropractor and I deduced that I had probably overstretched my achilles and I better not run for a while.

Just say the word achilles and most athletes get all upset. 

Simply mention injury to me and I go crazy.  I have been very good about NOT injuring myself while running or exercising.  I am careful to cross train so I don't overuse things.  (really, I just don't like exercise, so I keep "mixing it up" in hopes that I might love it)

So, to be told by someone who might know what he's talking about that I should not run was something I had to think about.  I am so worried about further damage to any tendons or joints that I always weigh things carefully if it looks like I might end up in a wheelchair too soon.

So, I did not run.  From February until today, I did not run.  I tried to run in April and I got about 100 yards down the road and it was just not right. 

I continued spinning, riding, Rock Bottoms (though sometimes the jumping was curtailed) but there has been a noticeable effect on my body.  I guess running really does burn off calories that other things do not. 

Not that I've ever been a BIG runner, but it usually is something I do at least once a week, more in months that don't have ice.

I've been watching people run this summer and though I don't like to run, I hate being told I shouldn't.  I kind of miss running.

So, I told myself that July 31 would be the big day.  5 months of no running.  And I would try it out.

Tonight though, I dropped my car for an oil change and decided I could run the 1 mile home and see what happens.

And I did.  And nothing happened.  Well, I sweat a lot and hated it but it was fine.

And now I will share with you what I wore because I love this skirt.  It's a Reebok skirt from a few years ago.  Before running skirts got really popular.  I'm such a trend setter.

 I'm not one of those people that likes anything close on my stomach, so you usually will not see me running in tight tank tops.  I prefer them loose so I don't have to worry about sucking it in while I'm sucking wind.  It would be a lot cuter if I wore something more form fitting but there is only so much cute I can manage when I'm running.  Comfort overtakes cute.
 This is a closer view of the front.  It's a weird color and I usually end up wearing some pastel with it.  It has built in shorts underneath and I am not always a fan of them.  They are not as comfortable as I want them to be.  The material isn't what I usually wear in tight shorts.

I figured you wanted to see the back door too.  It really is straight across the back, I'm just standing weird. I think I was turning to see if the self timer was really flashing or if I was just posing for nothing.

1 comment:

  1. You look comfy and cute! I'm impressed you continued to run even though you don't like it. I run with the dog for 10 minutes every morning and it's the worst part of my day!!

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