Ever since we got our memberships to Planet Fitness last week we have been regular visitors to the gym. I went 4 days this week! We are also taking advantage of the membership and visiting the Black Card Spa, aka the massage chairs, hydro massage beds and even the Total Body Enhancement equipment. Nothing beats the hydro massage beds though. A true spa experience for sure! I had a sudden flare up of super angry hamstrings and glutes. It was several days of uncomfortable pain, but luckily (knock on wood!) the pain is gone now. I ran 13.5 miles this week, including a 5K. Been a long time since I was in a 5K race!
Sun – 12th annual Willford Turkey Trot, 1.12 miles walking. I had to keep the tradition going, so even though no one was interested in going for a run (it was raining, and two of us were sick!) we still managed a walk around the neighborhood. Even though it looked a little different this year, and was 3 days late, the Thanksgiving streak continues!
Since my husband was sick he avoided making any food for our Thanksgiving, so my son got to carve the turkey. We did a decent job, but we missed my husband’s skills!
Mon – 1.75 miles, walking. Still not up for a run due to my cold I did want to get some fresh air before the sun went down, so I took a walk. SUPER odd thing happened… all of sudden I noticed a very tight pull in my upper right hamstring. I questioned it, but since I wasn’t doing anything strenuous I continued my walk. By bedtime my leg was so sore I was walking weird! At night I could feel it as I turned over in bed. What the heck??? The problem was very worrisome and uncomfortable!
Tues – Hamstring still feeling sore although the pain was moving around to be pretty much the entire back of my legs (hammies) and more “soreness” than “stabbing pain”. The only thing I can figure out is that it’s DOMS from my Saturday visit to Planet Fitness. Ugh. I did make another trip to the gym and used the 30 min circuit. I give it an “ok” rating. I would perhaps skip the cardio portion of the circuit next time, which is supposed to be between each weight machine, and just do the machine part of the circuit twice to get the best workout.
Weds – 3 miles, running on treadmill. Hamstrings still a bit sore (can’t touch my toes without a lot of discomfort!) but I think the best way to attack the problem is to do some PT exercises and run. So I did! My cold was quite a bit better today and I ran before work.
Thurs – 3.5 miles running, strength training (gym visit). I’m part of the Joy To The Run group from Another Mother Runner, which has been my annual “training plan” for December. A fun group for motivation, structure, and some contests. Today’s run was “song intervals”, in a ladder format. One song slow, one a little fast, and one faster (and then go back down the ladder). Seems like forever since I’ve done any intervals so this was refreshing to pick up the pace. The feeling of accomplishment!
You may remember that I hurt my hand on Oct 23rd when I was mountain biking. Basically I landed on my hand and pulled my thumb backwards (yep, it’s as painful as it sounds!). I went to the doctor today for a recheck after having my thumb immobilized for a month. The good news is that he thinks it will heal without surgery. The bad news is that I have limited range of movement with it right now. Hopefully with exercise and maybe PT in the future it will have full range again. It is still a bit sore depending on how I move it. This is how far I can move it…
I bet you just moved your own thumb, didn’t you? haha! I also got a referral for PT for my hammie just in case. They were sore/uncomfortable again this morning. ugh.
On my visit to Planet Fitness today I tried out the Total Body Enhancer. This thing has a vibrating floor plate and red light therapy. It was a 12 minute program, which left me a bit discombobulated after all of that vibration!! I’m not sure it would really tighten up my skin and do all that it promises, but I’m willing to give it another try. I’d certainly pick the hydromassage chairs over this unit though!
Fri – Arc trainer (35 mins) & 3.5 mile run. Tested out my race pants with a run around the neighborhood. Found out although they are thin, they are super hot when layered over fleece tights. Good to know!
We also enjoyed the Black Card spa again – this time with hydromassage bed and massage chairs. Ahhh. Going to gym is fun 🙂
Sat – Arc trainer (30 mins) & a 5K! The Christmas Village 5K. This is a new race for our nearby town. I volunteered as an Ask Me person. I’ve never done this task but it was as simple as pointing people to the packet pickup, start line, restrooms, etc. It was a windy chilly day so I was pretty much freezing my butt off outside from 3pm until race start at 4:30pm. I’ll write up a recap of the race later, but the key points are that I had frozen feet until mile 2 (thought I was going to trip!) and I did better than I expected. 26:46 Yay! And, those pesky hamstring pains were no where to be found. Woohoo!
After the race my son performed in a brass ensemble for the Christmas tree lighting. I think we got home at 6:45pm and it seemed like midnight! sigh, the winter nights.
Sun – Rest! We will be going to see a performance of the Nutcracker ballet tonight. It’s my holiday favorite!
Need some more inspiration? I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Check out all of the fun blogs there!
Q: Are you attending any holiday events this year?
The Trans Siberian Orchestra just played in our town. Several friends went. I’m not sure I’d enjoy that concert – it seems sooooo intense!
Q: Any WordPress gurus out there? Any idea why my gallery pictures aren’t stacked anymore? They look fine in my editor. Ugh.
My husband took me to the TS Orchestra when I was pregnant. My seat was against a wall, and I actually put my head there and fell asleep. It was a great show, but long, and pregnancy was not easy for me.
Sorry for the sickness over Thanksgiving. That’s no fun.
We have a lot of holiday things booked. I’m excited.
I can’t even imagine falling asleep during TSO show!! You must have been exhausted! I think I’m finally getting over my cold. It’s been a long week.
Nice job on your 5k and I’m glad you did so well, all things considered! I’ve run a few races with numb feet and it’s not fun. It most recently happened to me at my Turkey Trot and it wasn’t even that cold!
Ok, that vibrating thing would be a big no for me, lol. My body is pretty loose already–thank you menopause–and I wouldn’t want all the jiggling going on.
I parked right by the race, not sure why I didn’t have an arsenal of items in my car just in case.. like some nice warm boots to stand around in while I volunteered so I wouldn’t have numb feet! duh. Live and learn!
That hamstring thing is mysterious!!! Well… I’m glad it’s feeling better. When you mentioned the massage chairs and said “going to the gym is fun” I had a sudden flashback to my dad. He would go to the gym and work out for about 15 minutes, and then go sit in the hot tub. Not that you’re doing that! I know you’re working out hard- but for my dad, going to the gym really was “fun.”
Sounds like you had a lot going on! This is a super busy time of year- we have a bunch of school concerts. And congrats on the 5K- that’s a great time!
At my age I now understand while all of the “old guys” used to hang out in the sauna at the gym! It’s such wonderful recovery and feels great on my sore old body. haha!! But seriously, it’s great recovery.
Well, I know all about grumpy hamstring pain! My right hammy still feels uncomfortable if I’m sitting for long periods, but otherwise it feels almost back to normal (no pain or tightness when running, which had been the problem that led me to PT). Great job on your 5K! My last 5K was mid-October (when I had to scale-back from the half marathon). That was before my PT, and the hammy did NOT enjoy the race, LOL.
It was soooo uncomfortable to sit, sleep, bend… it sucked!! I do have a renewed interest in running 5Ks. They’re done so fast, and practically zero recovery needed!
Well at least the week got better as it went on! So weird about the hamstring. Could it have been a charley horse (although seems like a weird location for one). They can leave you sore for days! Glad it all managed to work ou.
The one holiday party of our group unfortunately fell at a time I can’t attend.
That sharp pain was really the oddest thing. Who gets hurt walking slowly?? Geez.
I would probably pass on the vibrating thing but I would be all over the massage chairs and hydro therapy. I have been coveting those Normatec boot things for years! Hope your hamstring and glutes pain makes a quick exit
Those recovery boots do look pretty nice! The massage chair is very similar and I look forward enjoying it after my long runs. My body has bounced back from the return to strength training. Thankfully 😅
The Total Body Enhancer. sounds really cool! I’ve never seen anything like that before.
It’s different for sure! I am a bit surprised PF has a bunch of tanning beds (4 of them I think).
Well done with the race, especially after the hamstring problem. I hope the pain stays away now!
How lovely to find a gym you really like, that’s so important.
I could probably, to some degree, classify myself as a WordPress guru… I had a problem with the gallery once but it was because I had fiddled with the CSS and added the wrong element. The WP gallery is quite complex, I’ve tried to style some of it in the past but never managed.
I’m guessing the WP gallery issue is with the width of the middle section, but I haven’t (intentionally) changed anything that would break it. I guess an update modified something. Ugh. I just don’t want to spend the time on it. 😕 It looks bad though.
Ouchie on the hamstrings and the thumb! Glad the hammy cooperated for your race! Now I’m wondering what sort of “enhancement” all the vibration does??
Per my Google search: Designed to rejuvenate and tone muscles, energize and restore the body, reduce pain, and improve circulation. The red light therapy is supposed to be good for recovery but also before workouts? I’m not really sold on it, but I did buy a pair of those little tanning goggles to protect my eyes from the light so I guess I have to go a few more times to get my moneys worth out of them ($2.50 haha!!).
Sorry for your hamstring pain – glad it didn’t impact your race! I love the Arc Trainer – it’s one of the things I miss about giving up my gym membership.
It feels a little weird starting out, but I think I do prefer the motion of the arc trainer over the elliptical. Planet Fitness has a ton of cardio equipment. I was really happily surprised at the variety!
I’m so sorry to hear that you had such pain in your hamstring. Here’s hoping it was just a weird little niggle and won’t cause you any future problems.
Oh yes, wrapping up a workout using a hydromassage bed and massage chair would feel fabulous!
I think the hamstring stuff was just a reaction to not having done any leg workouts in months! I hope to get a more rounded training plan with strength training for my next marathon this spring.