An AHA moment

Not surprisingly, I woke up stiff this morning. I wasn't as stiff as expected though, and while my 3 mile run was exceedingly slow, it also loosened up a lot of that stiffness. I felt halfway decent going into the 3rd day of the Insanity program.

I've decided I really don't like jumping around in my house. The floor is solid enough to walk on, but I can feel it give a little and creak when I jump. Or maybe that's my imagination. It was actually cooler and breezier outside, so I took my laptop and yoga mat out back to jump around.

This is, of course, where I had my aha moment. I had the laptop set up under a tree, to take advantage of the shade. It was difficult to see the screen for many of the exercises, which was less than helpful in the stretching portions. I found, however, that I could actually complete the exercise section this way. The key was in not actually trying to keep up with the class and instructor, who are obviously in far better shape than I. Because I couldn't see how fast they were going, I did the exercises at my own, considerably slower pace.

This is not to say I didn't stop, because I did... several times. My feet are tender, an indication that I should not have done the warmup yesterday in bare feet. Mark that, because it may be the only time you'll ever hear me suggest shoes are better than bare feet. With all the jumping jacks and running in place, the balls of my feet took a pounding. It would have been worse today, as there were several exercises that had me comletely off the ground.



The first 2 minutes of this video shows what today's workout involved. Multiply it by several sets. Again, just warming up is killer. I was happy to see my pushups today were better than yesterday's, although still nowhere near as deep as they should be. I actually got some bend in my elbows, and felt them in my abs. Maybe next time through the program I'll actually travel with them, like they did in the final set.

Energizer Bunny swears by Mike's Mix Recovery Drink. She gave me some to test when she gave me these DVDs, and I've been using it every day after the workouts.

I have to say it does seem to help, at least for a while. I'm not as sore during the day as I expect to be, though by bedtime I certainly feel the stiffness setting in. It seems the transitions are the worst. I'm fine as long as I'm sitting or standing or moving or doing. It's going from sitting to standing, or standing to sitting, that is difficult. I don't know if I would be more sore without the recovery drink. I honestly don't want to find out. I'm convinced enough of that, I emptied my Paypal account to purchase my own personal stash. When every penny I spend freaks me out, that's saying something.

Tomorrow is going to be interesting. I'll get up early enough to run 3 miles before biking 9 miles to my Mom's. I have to put the lower kitchen cabinets back together, mud and prime the bathroom window, take apart and empty the upper cabinets, and prime those. Then it's back on the bike for another 9 miles home, followed by what Sean T. calls "Cardio Recovery" in the Insanity program. This is where I see if I can continue to follow the program religiously. I will not compromise on the run or the bike, so if something's got to go it's going to be the insanity.

Huh. Go figure.