Yesterday I was having a bad day. After a few hours of sulking, followed by a few hours of catching up with friends, I realized the only cure to my Sunday blues would be a trip to the gym.
I was feeling pretty sore from my barre method class, so I didn't want to push things too hard. I was resigned to pedaling along on the elliptical when I remembered I have an 8K coming up next weekend. So I jumped on the treadmill and hoped for the best.
Whenever I take a long break from running I worry about what will happen when I return. Will I be significantly weaker? Will I injure myself because my muscles won't know what to do? Will I be slow and hate it? Luckily, my legs knew what to do and I was able to knock out 4 miles at a 9:13/mile pace. Not my best work, but not too shabby for taking time off. It also helped my mood immensely.
I'm not a big treadmill fan, so I cut things off at 4 miles and spent some time on the ergometer. For those of you who aren't familiar with the erg, it's an indoor rowing machine and one of my favorite machines. If you're doing it properly, you will work your legs, arms, and back. If you're doing it wrong, you'll probably end up hurting your back. It's a lot of fun once you know what you're doing, burns a lot of calories, and is a great way to mix up your cardio routine. Just have someone show you how to do it properly before you begin. I have a lot of former rowers in my life, so I've had a lot of tutorials over the years. I highly recommend it.
For those of you counting:
MYB Challenge workout 2 of 22 complete
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