No pain, no gain is not a rule that I can live by. All I gain from pain is a kind of grumpy patience.
Last winter, when I started the C25K, my goal was to jog (very timidly, very sluggishly) for half an hour without something breaking inside. I really did not know if this overweight body could do that kind of exercise at at all. Because I was so slow and safe, I had very little problem with injuries. (Also, I didn't really get into that great shape. I mean, little old ladies could walk faster than I was jogging. Hell, I could walk faster than I was jogging.)
Over the summer, I got impatient with this hold-back attitude. And paid for it with those nasty shin splints that flare up again when I try to do too much. It's hard to balance between safety and stagnation. (Whine du jour: life is hard. Waah. Okay, done now.)
Each time it hurt, I rested, took things easy, and cursed a bit. Then I went back to exercising.
This winter, the goal was to do the C25K and actually run when the podcast told me to, rather than shuffling along at Almost-Faster-Than-Slug speed. The shins complained a bit, but they were not jumping up and down screaming for ice packs.
Until now. (Waah.)
Methinks I overdid things a bit last Thursday. Going to do the 25 minutes sloooowly.
Exercise du jour: Week 7 Day 1 of the C25k
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 25 minutes. Not just slowly, but sloooooooowly.
1/2 star. Made it halfway, but the leg pain (tendon on the side of the leg) was getting worse. Does grinding my teeth constitute exercise?
Still, after two cups of coffee I couldn't just sit there. So I invented a new sport: one-legged dancing. Kept the bad foot close to the floor and let the other leg do kicks, with my arms flailing and hips twisting and probably everything else jiggling as well.
If the dog ever learns how to operate the video camera, I'm screwed.
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