Ice, ice, Baby
I kicked my own ass today at bootcamp. For the first time since starting this daily torture routine, I was able to run the entire grassy knoll. That’s right. I ran the whole thing. This is probably not very impressive to many of you, but did I mention the grassy knoll is 5 miles around? Well, it isn’t. I don’t know how far around it is, all I know is that until today I couldn’t run the whole way around it.
I was doing so well. I wasn’t tired, or sore, or even panting excessively.
After that, I lifted my weights and did my chest presses. I walked with ankle bands around my legs and did my best John Wayne impression, going up, then down the hill. Then it came time to run some more.
Yeowch. What was that weird pulling sensation?
It was my left hamstring. You know the old joke: A man walks into a doctors office and says “Doc, it hurts when I do this.” and the doctor says “Then stop doing that.” I told my trainer it hurt when I ran, and she told me to stop running. Apparently one of my workout buddies was suffering the same ailment, so I was sent back to my mat to join her for push-ups and crunches instead of continuing the cardio workout. She warned me not to stretch my hamstring today, to ice it, and to take some Advil. As I type, I am sitting on a bag of frozen peas.
I think from now on, I will not crank the heater in the car when I drive to bootcamp. I get all nice and warm and then I am thrust into the frigid air and made to move around at a semi-quick pace and my muscles say “Oh, hell to the no!” and tighten up on me.
I hope it feels better tomorrow because I am (I can’t believe I am admitting this) actually liking bootcamp. It’s feels good to get out there and work out. I feel a great sense of accomplishment. By 7 am I have completed a challenging workout, before many folks are even awake. Plus, it feels good to do something to improve my health. Sure, it’s early. And dark. And cold. But it’s also fun.
Well, except for the pulled muscle part.
I totally agree….I am enjoying it. Well, I enjoy the car ride home when I know it is over for another 23 hours. But I am thinking of signing up again…sick, isn’t it?
And I have noticed I am never cold until the stretching at the end. That is when I whine the loudest to make it stop!
Well, take it easy anyway, okay? Don’t let the hamstring get worse.
Congratulations on making it around the knoll!! Now take care of that hammie.
I’m impressed that you are doing the whole boot camp thing. Of course, it also makes me think you are a tad masochistic, but that’s because I’m a wimp who prefers to sleep in until 9 am! I hope the hamstring feels better soon!
You’re an inspiration for doing this. It takes an amazing amount of courage to roll out into the cold world when virtually everyone else is tucked in under a warm comforter.
When I was young and devoid of responsibility, I used to go cycling at 5:30 or 6:00 every morning. It was the only time of day when I could ride fast and hard and not worry about heavy traffic. I felt more alive because I was pushing the bounds while the rest of the world slept.
By the time I returned home, sweating, at 7:00, I was ready for whatever the day threw at me. My head was clear, and I was happy.
These days, getting the kids up and out of the house has to take priority. So I ride later on, and instead of a high-performance ride in the country or up a mountain, it’s a commute through traffic to work. But someday soon, I’ll get back to those solitary moments of clarity. And I’ll be right back where I started.
Good on you.
Did you see any suspicious characters when you were running? I hear they hang out at the grassy knolls.