Wednesday, June 04, 2008

MY LEGS ARE WORKING AGAIN!

Can you say sore legs?? After Sunday's race, DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) set in big time. They were only slightly stiff on Sunday, but by Monday morning, rigor mortis was setting in.

And lucky me, I work in an office that has 5 floors, with flights of steps to get around, or elevators of course. I usually take the steps, at least up one or two floors, on a regular basis. So Monday, there I was, starting to head up the steps, without thinking. But the legs weren't having any of that! And then worse yet, I forgot when I needed to go back down, and I found myself, with a couple of files in hand, standing at the top of a flight of stairs unable to move! I honestly could not make my legs go down those steps! I finally made my way down, sideways, with my back against the wall so I didn't lose my balance and fall. After that, it was elevators all day, even up and down one floor. For some people in the office, that's normal, to always take the elevators. But I got a lot of strange looks apparently "being so lazy." And just walking around, I felt like a wooden soldier my legs were so stiff! I had forgotten my lunch that day too and had to walk downtown to get something to eat, so I went to the closest (and one of the priciest) places just so I didn't have to walk farther.

By the time I got out of work that night, it was actually worse. But with 1/2 IM training, there are no days off, even after a long run like that. I was already having to mix up my training for the week because of the race, so knew I had to get on my bike trainer for a workout. I thought that might help the legs too, loosen things up. But again, I was wrong! Only 30 minutes of fairly easy spinning in a low gear and now I could barely bend my legs at all! And with the trainer in the basement, I had to make a serious effort to get back up the steps without having to crawl!

Tuesday morning, they were worse yet! I had decided the night before to swim on Tuesday morning and got as much ready as I could the night before. Good thing too because it was such an effort getting around, I doubt I would have made it out of the house if I hadn't already been organized! I did get in my first mile swim since last fall, with a time of 40:49, so it went better than I had figured. Because I swim in a short pool, and because the only way to measure your distance is by laps, a mile meant 60 laps. To keep from getting off count, bored, or frustrated, I counted 1/60, 2/59, etc. just to keep track. That seemed to work pretty well, so I hope I can do that again. I have learned too that after a hard event like the half marathon or the 25k, it is now easier to lengthen the swim workouts without as much problem. After all, 40 minutes is a lot shorter than 2 hours 44 min.!

And getting around the office Tuesday wasn't much easier. And I found myself needing to go up one floor several times in a row, so by the time I left work, my left hamstring was throbbing (I think it worked down from my hip that had been stiff). I was a mess! And a trip to Wal-Mart is a whole other story!

Today, things are much better, the legs are working, I'm pretty much back to normal, so now its time to sign up for another half marathon. Next up: Toronto Half, September 28, 2008. Woo hoo!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your day sounds quite a bit like my day after the Ogden Half. The soreness sure seems to want to stick around and the only cure is to make the muscles work...silly remedy, but it works.

Good swimming time!

chia said...

You IM girls are so hard core :-). Great job in the pool!!!

Toronto looks lovely. Great choice, wish I could join you!

Lily on the Road said...

OMG, I saw your pics from Dexter...you were rock'n girl!!

Sorry to hear about the DOMS, but good for you get on your bike. I still have to drag my iron pig up from the basement....on Saturday.

Half Marathon training starts tomorrow...yikes,

IronWaddler said...

Glad you are feeling better. ou are right about the HIM training. I took today off and feel really bad.

Anonymous said...

Way to get back to it after your last race! Your training is going well, I'd say :)

I have a neat little lap counter that I bought...it really comes in handy. You wear it on your finger and just push a little button after each lap and it keeps count for you. I'll send you the link if you like...let me know :)

Sunshine said...

You are right: sometimes "rigor mortis" is the description of choice. Hurrah for recovery.

Unknown said...

They we go. You're all ready to sign up for the next one. WooooHoooo!

Fe-lady said...

Ouch....did you take an ice bath after the race? It really really really helps! (As hard as it is to get and stay in that cold water!!)
Great talking to you yesterday...thanks for the phonecall sweetie!

AddictedToEndorphins said...

Yay for Toronto! It's a beautiful beautiful place. Seriously. And the crowd is totally into it and it's flat and fantastic and...
I guess I don't have to convince you to come run here cause that's already your plan. :)

Ill be following your training!
Tiger