In case you missed it last week, I decided to participate in Jess' weekly Say it Do it posts. I'll be recapping my previous week of working out and planning for the next week.
A Look At Last Week...
Last Sunday I rejoined my old gym, meaning that I participated in a couple of things I had not done in years. I feel like overall this week was a good mix of trying new things but also balancing my knee's need for not doing too much at once.
Sunday March 4: Swam-20 laps
This was my epic return to swimming after an over 2 year hiatus. My original goal was to make it 16 laps, but I made it to 20. I enjoyed some pretty sore arms on Monday after this work out!
Monday March 5: Off
Tuesday March 6: Spin Class- 50 Minutes
I wouldn't call my return to spinning epic, but it was a return nonetheless. I love spinning, but my knee is less of a fan. Therefore I spent the entire 50 minutes trying not to piss it off. This included but was not limited to completely ignoring my teacher's speed and resistance recommendation. For future reference, keeping your bike on a resistance of 3 makes 50 minutes pass very slowly.
Wednesday March 7: Run/walk- 2 Miles
Yes I realize if I am trying to NOT piss off my knee, a biking session followed by a run the next day was maybe not my best plan. However, if you saw the weather last Wednesday you'd know I couldn't pass it up. I took it easy on this run so my knee seemed to tolerate it okay.
Thursday March 8: Swam- 20 laps
Friday March 9 & Saturday March 10: Off
I'm very happy with how last week went, and I'm hoping future weeks can look similar to this, with maybe some yoga thrown in when I can fit it in. My main goal in all of this is to be able to do everything I want to do (read: run, bike, swim and yoga) without upsetting my tendonitis in my left knee. Sadly, this is not an easy goal and will probably always be a work in progress. Last week my knee handled things pretty well. I was aware it was there, and there was some slight pain at times but nothing I could not handle. It's always a great balance between tolerating some small uncomfortable feeling and stopping when it gets uncomfortable so it doesn't get worse. It must be fun to be a person who has a normal body... no?
One thing that has been interesting about rejoining the gym has been how much I have loved getting back to swimming. When I trained for a triathlon in 2009, there was a lot about swimming that annoyed me. I hated smelling like chlorine all day even after taking a shower. I hated the dirty looks people would give me when I needed to share a lane with them at the pool (god forbid!). I hated the process of swimming, making sure I had my goggles, my bathing cap, towel, getting dry again after- etc! This time I have a completely different opinion about it. I am actually kind of enjoying the chlorine smell a bit, and people have been super friendly about sharing lanes (as they should be!). Plus I've realized that even though it's a process, it doesn't take much longer than a run day because it only takes me about 15 minutes to actually swim 20 laps, and I get a pretty good work out in that time. My only real complaint about swimming is that I have to pay close attention to the schedule to make sure lap swimming is available when I want to go, but since I have two Y's near me that opens up the possibilities a lot. Yeah, I kinda love swimming this time around.
This Week Plans
Sunday: Run 2 Miles
Monday: Swim 22 Laps
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Spin
Thursday: Swim 22 Laps or Walk
Friday: Yoga or Off
Saturday: Walk/Run or Swim (depending on Thursday)
Things are a bit up in the air mainly because it's supposed to be ridiculously nice weather in Boston this week and I may want to go for more walks and less inside gym days. That's okay if i do though :)
What are your workout plans for the week? Or... what was the best part of your weekend?
Posts
I did pretty well on work outs this week. I only ran, but part of that was because of the weather. I ran Mon, Wed, Thur, Sat and Sun. Which is the most # of days I have ran in a long time. They were all short runs, but runs nonetheless! This week my goal is to run Mon/Wed/Sat and bike Tues/Thur. But again i am going to play it by ear as i can't resist running outdoors on a day when it's in the 60s.
ReplyDeleteThe best part of my weekend was the time spent with college friends at the 2 showers I went to!
Well, my weekend starts tomorrow!! I can't wait. And, I am looking forward to getting outside and enjoying the weather (And I'll probably do what you did and run or do something that my knee might not like....just to test the waters!). I also plan on doing a new Jillian DVD I got in the mail. Yeah, I'm into her now! Who would have ever thought?!
ReplyDeleteWay to get to 20 laps! Woo! I like your attitude about swimming this time, isn't it weird how much a change in perspective helps?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're enjoying swimming but boo to your knee being irritated! Have you tried water running? That might help you build up some strength in your knee area too?
ReplyDeleteI need to get back in the pool, I miss it! But I don't have a membership to a pool or a gym right now.