Just curious...

Has anyone on my LJ ever had a rude awakening when moving from, say, a treadmill to pavement about running differently?

I'm trying very hard to be "I am where I am, if I can't jog 20 minutes - after having done four ten minute miles just a couple months ago - that's *where I am*, and it is a bad idea to get too frustrated, because that leads to quitting... sometimes quitting *right before that breakthrough that makes it all worthwhile.*"

But I'm also curious as all hell, and partly... well, partly frustrated.

You remember how I was thinking earlier, I'll try doing pushups frequently, and try to add just one, or maybe two, a week? And then, at the end of the year, I'll be at some ungodly number? Well, I'm frozen at about 40. I've gone as high as 45. I might have been able to do 46, hell, maybe 47, and collapsed, with my heart racing like crazy (45 has my heart pounding quite nicely). And like a good little trooper, what I've done is just added another set of pushups. Now I'll do maybe 40, and then maybe another 30 in my second set. Sooner or later, I'll break through the plateau, and start improving again. Right? My brain says "right!" but my heart says "well... maybe."

Well... maybe. I really don't know. I don't have any real faith in my brain's "right!".

My last LJ entry about jogging in RL was partially a checkpoint. "In six weeks, if I can't jog 20 minutes straight, *something is probably wrong*." I think that's fair. I can jog 11 minutes out of 20, no questions asked, and can't close the deal by getting up to 20 out of 20 in six friggin' weeks, there's a problem, either with my discipline (if I have to honestly admit I haven't even tried jogging 3-4 times a week) or with my body.

But I'm also curious if anyone else has had an experience like this, or knows anything about this. Gads... I almost need to find an exercise support group. (Like that'll ever happen. :-) )

Just curious...

Has anyone on my LJ ever had a rude awakening when moving from, say, a treadmill to pavement about running differently?

I'm trying very hard to be "I am where I am, if I can't jog 20 minutes - after having done four ten minute miles just a couple months ago - that's *where I am*, and it is a bad idea to get too frustrated, because that leads to quitting... sometimes quitting *right before that breakthrough that makes it all worthwhile.*"

But I'm also curious as all hell, and partly... well, partly frustrated.

You remember how I was thinking earlier, I'll try doing pushups frequently, and try to add just one, or maybe two, a week? And then, at the end of the year, I'll be at some ungodly number? Well, I'm frozen at about 40. I've gone as high as 45. I might have been able to do 46, hell, maybe 47, and collapsed, with my heart racing like crazy (45 has my heart pounding quite nicely). And like a good little trooper, what I've done is just added another set of pushups. Now I'll do maybe 40, and then maybe another 30 in my second set. Sooner or later, I'll break through the plateau, and start improving again. Right? My brain says "right!" but my heart says "well... maybe."

Well... maybe. I really don't know. I don't have any real faith in my brain's "right!".

My last LJ entry about jogging in RL was partially a checkpoint. "In six weeks, if I can't jog 20 minutes straight, *something is probably wrong*." I think that's fair. I can jog 11 minutes out of 20, no questions asked, and can't close the deal by getting up to 20 out of 20 in six friggin' weeks, there's a problem, either with my discipline (if I have to honestly admit I haven't even tried jogging 3-4 times a week) or with my body.

But I'm also curious if anyone else has had an experience like this, or knows anything about this. Gads... I almost need to find an exercise support group. (Like that'll ever happen. :-) )

Good news/bad news/lessons learned

Well, the bad news is I have a nasty headache, my back is twinging funny, and I feel a bit like I have heartburn, which I sometimes feel when I've worked out much too hard.

The good news is, I felt *exactly* this bad *before* I went out jogging today. So jogging didn't make it any worse, and I didn't skip a day of exercise needlessly.

Lessons learned; trying to have tasty ginger chicken and broccoli beef when very hungry after running is risky. That whole "eat Chinese food and feel hungry again soon" thing, you know.

I've decided that there is one huge advantage to this idea I've come up with. At the 16 minute mark, when I started jogging for the last four minutes of the 20, I realized my left leg wasn't stepping very well, and I focused on form again (not forcing my steps, but more concentrating on how it feels to land on the heel and roll to the ball of the foot). If I'd been trying to keep going for 30 minutes, say, it'd be a lot easier to lose track of that.

So, I'd say it was a good workout. I mean, I feel like hell, but I felt like hell beforehand, too, and I definitely don't feel worse. Now, I just have to try to make sure I get to bed at a reasonable hour.

Good news/bad news/lessons learned

Well, the bad news is I have a nasty headache, my back is twinging funny, and I feel a bit like I have heartburn, which I sometimes feel when I've worked out much too hard.

The good news is, I felt *exactly* this bad *before* I went out jogging today. So jogging didn't make it any worse, and I didn't skip a day of exercise needlessly.

Lessons learned; trying to have tasty ginger chicken and broccoli beef when very hungry after running is risky. That whole "eat Chinese food and feel hungry again soon" thing, you know.

I've decided that there is one huge advantage to this idea I've come up with. At the 16 minute mark, when I started jogging for the last four minutes of the 20, I realized my left leg wasn't stepping very well, and I focused on form again (not forcing my steps, but more concentrating on how it feels to land on the heel and roll to the ball of the foot). If I'd been trying to keep going for 30 minutes, say, it'd be a lot easier to lose track of that.

So, I'd say it was a good workout. I mean, I feel like hell, but I felt like hell beforehand, too, and I definitely don't feel worse. Now, I just have to try to make sure I get to bed at a reasonable hour.