08/15 - 08/21 - A Somewhat Cautious Week

Workouts for last week:

8/15 (Monday) - Yoga - 1 hour
8/16 (Tuesday) - Body Pump - 1 hour
8/17 (Wednesday) - Run 1.82 miles - 21 minutes
8/18 (Thursday) - Run 3.12 miles on treadmill - 33:35 (pretty fast, for me, and I paid for it)
8/19 (Friday) - Walk 1.41 miles to the Redlands Bowl (orchestra and fireworks!)
8/20 (Saturday) - Walk 1.68 miles around town with the Husband.
8/21 (Sunday) - Run 2 miles - 24 minutes; Body Pump - 1 hour

Subtract the smile and chiseled arms, add in a grimace of pain, and that's me!

Though I was active every day, I was really taking it easy last week.  I feel like I've been on the verge of injury for a couple weeks now; oddly enough, my legs are doing okay, but my upper body is plaguing me with cramping muscles, nerve pain, etc.  I took it easy in Body Pump (though it's hard - my not-so-inner competitor finds it difficult to watch people lifting more than me), and didn't challenge myself in yoga, opting for gentle stretches instead (I have no inner competitor in yoga, due to accepting my total lack of flexibility).

I intended to run 3 miles on Friday, but when it became clear that work explosions would necessitate me doing some overtime Friday morning, I opted for a 5K on the treadmill out of utter frustration.  I should never run out of utter frustration.  I averaged a 10:40 pace for the entire run, which is pretty fast for me.  That evening was fine, but the next day I was having sciatic nerve pain (I think?) down the back of my legs and through my bum.  Not horribly painful, but sitting was uncomfortable, and the wooden benches at the Redlands bowl almost killed me!

1812 Overture... with fireworks!

I know that a certain level of discomfort is inevitable.  I'm challenging my body to do things that it's never done before, and I've upped the intensity of my workouts substantially in the last month.  So I'm rolling with the pain and just being careful - the thought of getting injured is scary and discouraging, so I am trying to strike a balance between being cautious and pushing myself every day.