I hate the gym

I've gone to the gym 9 times in the last 2 weeks. A typical visit entails 12 to 15 minutes of walking/running on the treadmill, sometimes I would do stairs carrying 20 pounds of weights for about 10 minutes in addition to the running, then I'd do ab work, 4-way hip machine, lunges, pull-ups, lower back machine, roman chair-- that's about it. Toward the end of the 2 week "trial period", I got sick of the gym, to the point where I felt like a small part of me died every time I stepped through the doors (seriously, it *sucked*) --- so my theory that I might get used to it didn't pan out. The soreness was kept mostly in check. Toward the end, it felt like it was catching up with me, but I think it was due to burn-out. Looking back on this, it seems silly to imagine that I would take to a 5x/week gym schedule when I hated going 2x/week. I guess I felt like my hip needed something difficult to make it better, and this was difficult. Also, I don't think there is such a thing as a "soreness threshold". It's more of a gradient-- the soreness builds gradually based on intensity and duration.

I'm not sure where this leaves me. I think the strength work in the gym is good, so I should keep going, but back off. The question I'm pondering lately-- what if I just take an extended break, maybe my hip will heal some. And maybe all this activity is prolonging my recovery. Hmmm...

Quick update

I've been to the gym 7 times in the last 9 days. One of the drawbacks that I hadn't anticipated is the soap. The stuff they provide is pretty bad-- I should bring my own, or I'll continue to smell like my over-cologned uncle, which ain't good by the way. Everything else seems to be going well though.....

A better strategy?

We spent the last week in Mexico. We weren't sure if a relaxing vacation with 2-year-old boy was possible or not, but it was a success. It was relaxing, and we're happier, I think. I've always suspected that I'm not very good at vacations, but this one seemed to work-- was it the free margaritas? Perhaps. Christina's mom came to help out, and although we realized that inviting her could be a big mistake, we had no urge to kill her, and in fact, that part worked out well too. We stayed in one of those all-inclusive beach resorts, the kind we used to make fun of.... but new realities.... Anyway, the day we arrived (Saturday) I did a 2/3 walk/run in on the concrete roads of the resort. Then did it again on Monday. Wed I stepped up to the treadmill in the empty resort gym and tried a 1/4 walk/run-- that made the hip significantly sore. It could have been the concrete from earlier in the week....but it was too much. Oh well. But I learned how to swim in one of the resort's colossal pools-- that was good, and I swam a mile nonstop on Friday, where previously I could only swim 50 meters before stopping and catching my breath. Swimming would be a great activity for me in theory given my hip and all, but I haven't decided if I like it or not. It's boring, I think. I'll try it in Barton a few times before I decide.

I've noticed that hip soreness after a workout sorta depresses me, esp if the workout is wimpy, and they're all wimpy at this point-- makes me question whether I'll be able to run any decent distance or pace, ever. And the soreness prevents me from exercising the next day-- none of which is good. So I think it would be best if I figured out what amount of running allows me to exercise 5 or even 6 times a week without soreness. Is it 10 minutes of running per workout? 13? If I stay below the "soreness threshold" as I'll call it, maybe I can push the threshold farther and faster than my current strategy, which I'd describe as the "2 steps forward one step back" strategy.

So I was thinking-- and this is the depressing part-- I'd visit the gym 5x/week, in the evenings, as a reward to myself I get to watch Jon Stewart--- 30 minutes of strengthening exercises in addition to running progression on the treadmill. The running progression (i.e. the progression of difficulty/duration from one workout to the next) will be very gradual. The idea is that I hang out around the soreness threshold to keep tabs on it, keep it in sight, and prevent myself from crashing into it. If the workout progression is too fast, I might overshoot (crash), which is what I've been doing. I'll try this for 2 weeks and see how it goes....too many hours in the gym will surely drive me insane or depress me or both. But then again I might get used to it.... Once I can run a reasonable amount, say 30 minutes, I'll do some of the running in the afternoon, outside on the roads or trail-- that should help keep me sane...

The strengthening exercises will be core work, emphasis on obliques, lower back, roman chair stuff, lunges, seated adductor and abductor exercises progressing to 4-way hip machine. To mix things up, I might swim. (I'm pretty uncoordinated, but I'd like to learn the flip turn.....)

Today is my son Banjo's birthday-- he's 2 years old! Yay Banjo! And by a surprising coincidence, it's my birthday too-- I'm 38. Uh, yay....