I gave the treadmill another chance Friday, and guess what! We're friends! There's still a lot of ice and snow around here, so I'll be running on a treadmill for at least another week.
Friday I did a light erging warm up just to get the blood flowing. I didn't stretch as much as I probably should've (sad face), so when I was building my friendship with the treadmill I ended up having to walk some. I did the "5k Loop" workout, and ran probably 4k of it. I felt really good and luckily didn't have any trouble breathing. As an asthmatic when I'm getting back into shape my lungs are always a concern. I was good and drank some chocolate milk and did some serious stretching when I got home.
Yesterday I luckily wasn't sore, at all. A friend of mine came in for a short visit on her way back to Michigan, and after she left I was so full of energy and excitement I HAD to workout. I got to the gym and it was dead. No big deal, I knew I'd have no problem getting a treadmill in front of a TV that was showing ESPN or the Bengals v Jets game. I did a nice relaxing 20 minute stretching session. I could honestly feel my shoulder and neck tension melting out of my body, I loved it. Then I found my trusty treadmill in front of a TV showing ESPN, and set the clock for 35 minutes. The "World Strongest Man Competition" was on, and it was the most motivating event to watch, ever! I kept bumping up the speed, and the time just ticked away. I was in the zone, and nothing else in the world mattered. My body felt great, my lungs were doing their job and at a nice steady rate, and my head was clear. Bliss. After my 35 minutes of amazingness ended I decided I wasn't ready to go home yet. So, I hopped on the bike for a nice 15 minute cool down. I fluctuated the speed every minute or so so my legs wouldn't go into shock. After I finished the 15 minute cool down I was off to stretch, again. Wow. Talk about amazing. I did every leg stretch I know, and I think I might have even grown a little bit because I stretched out my back so well.
Never under estimate the power of stretching. If you have lower back pain, maybe your hamstrings/calves are tight. Make sure you stretch out all the different muscle groups because the are all connected. I'm a big fan of yoga because of the huge focus on breathing. With tiny lungs and asthma breathing is a big deal for me.
Today was a lovely rest day. Tomorrow I'll be hitting the pool to really put my little lungs to the test. Wish me luck!
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