Not as unfit as I thought.
Jun. 2nd, 2006 10:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ewtWent out for a run jog just now. I wasn't going very fast, but I did manage to jog for 9 minutes. It took me 12 minutes to walk the same distance back. All in all I was out for about 30 minutes, as I walked a bit before I started and at the end (separate from the 12 minutes) rather than running right from the doorstep. I wasn't going to start running/jogging until after my exam on 12th June but I was feeling really restless and not really getting anything done, and mentally I feel much better for going.
I felt like I was going very very slowly; I stopped because my shins and ankles told me to. On the way back after walking for a bit I felt like running again, but decided to keep walking instead; I'm now glad I did, because my legs feel much better after the walking than they did when I first stopped running. I could have run faster but I think I would have come up against an unpleasant cardiovascular limit in fairly short order had I done so. I've never been a sprinter, I was always the kid who could walk/run/swim longer than anyone else, but at my own pace.
Next time, do I run faster, or for longer?
I do want to get my endurance back to something sane, but running at that slow pace I don't think I'm getting the full muscular benefit of 'proper' running; I'm not extending my legs all the way, my thighs were hardly getting more use than they do when walking (I walk a lot). And though I've never been a sprinter, having that weakness doesn't mean I want it to rule me - I'd like to get my sprinting ability to the point where I can hop up escalators and long staircases whilst carrying books/horn/whatever without getting too out of breath; I'd like to be able to have the feeling of just running as fast as is comfortable for the sheer joy of the movement, and knowing my body can cope with that, at least for a little bit. Not to mention the benefits that better lung capacity and circulation will bring to my horn playing...
I don't want to overdo it, though. I don't want to push too much and hurt myself, or push too much and manage to convince myself that running is hard - one of the good things about my little jog tonight is that I was surprised at just how easy it was, it wasn't really unpleasant at all. I know people go on and on about the "runner's high" that comes from pushing one's limits, but I'd rather settle for a gentle lift than risk destroying this good habit before it is even established.
I guess the answer is to wait and see how I feel, and try a little of both.
Other things: this was an evening run. Previously I have tried morning runs. No good control experiment here, but maybe I do better running afternoon/evening than morning? Only way to find out is to try both and see which is better. I'm kindof hoping for morning runs being good, because it would fit in with my schedule so much better, but I guess if they're not then I'll try to get some evening runs in now and then. It's not like it takes an entire evening or anything.
PS Geek points if you can figure out the icon. Comments screened so you don't give the game away.
I felt like I was going very very slowly; I stopped because my shins and ankles told me to. On the way back after walking for a bit I felt like running again, but decided to keep walking instead; I'm now glad I did, because my legs feel much better after the walking than they did when I first stopped running. I could have run faster but I think I would have come up against an unpleasant cardiovascular limit in fairly short order had I done so. I've never been a sprinter, I was always the kid who could walk/run/swim longer than anyone else, but at my own pace.
Next time, do I run faster, or for longer?
I do want to get my endurance back to something sane, but running at that slow pace I don't think I'm getting the full muscular benefit of 'proper' running; I'm not extending my legs all the way, my thighs were hardly getting more use than they do when walking (I walk a lot). And though I've never been a sprinter, having that weakness doesn't mean I want it to rule me - I'd like to get my sprinting ability to the point where I can hop up escalators and long staircases whilst carrying books/horn/whatever without getting too out of breath; I'd like to be able to have the feeling of just running as fast as is comfortable for the sheer joy of the movement, and knowing my body can cope with that, at least for a little bit. Not to mention the benefits that better lung capacity and circulation will bring to my horn playing...
I don't want to overdo it, though. I don't want to push too much and hurt myself, or push too much and manage to convince myself that running is hard - one of the good things about my little jog tonight is that I was surprised at just how easy it was, it wasn't really unpleasant at all. I know people go on and on about the "runner's high" that comes from pushing one's limits, but I'd rather settle for a gentle lift than risk destroying this good habit before it is even established.
I guess the answer is to wait and see how I feel, and try a little of both.
Other things: this was an evening run. Previously I have tried morning runs. No good control experiment here, but maybe I do better running afternoon/evening than morning? Only way to find out is to try both and see which is better. I'm kindof hoping for morning runs being good, because it would fit in with my schedule so much better, but I guess if they're not then I'll try to get some evening runs in now and then. It's not like it takes an entire evening or anything.
PS Geek points if you can figure out the icon. Comments screened so you don't give the game away.
