A run, por fin

I'm still feeling under the weather, with some lingering chest congestion and a cough, as well as a yucky, scabby blister under my nose that I always get from too much Kleenex use. So not only do I have piss-poor energy but I look freakish, too.

But I'm not one to tolerate my own whining for long, and I'm getting worried about this enforced cardio break, so I decided to try a run.

I was at the Y this weekend strength training, so I decided to try treadmill running for the first time. I was curious how I'd react because I know people have strong opinions about running on treadmills vs. the great outdoors. I stared at all the buttons for a good 5 minutes before I figured out how to get the thing going. I decided on a zero incline since this was my first try.

The room was overly warm so I sweat like crazy and I'm sure I broke some sort of gym etiquette rule because I didn't have a teeny-tiny towel to wipe the machine. Also, I found that running right next to other people does make me feel a bit anxious and competitive -- the woman next to me kept upping her speed every 2 minutes or so and I worried that she was feeling smug about her faster pace the whole time.

In the end, I only could run for 25 minutes before I started feeling faint and nauseous. But I didn't hate the treadmill, either, so now I know that it's an option as well if I don't want to run outside.

Because of this lingering cold, I think I'm going to shoot for February 5k instead of an earlier one. There's a February 19th run that looks likely; also a local running store in sponsoring a "Trail Running 101" class in March that I'll keep on my radar.
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The reason I was at the Y was to take advantage of a free session I get with a staff member as part of my membership.

I've been frustrated that I had little clue what some of the equipment in the weight room was for, so I decided to have the staff member educate me.

Some of the equipment has helpful pictures, but some of the older equipment is mysterious, with weird protrusions and rusty metal grips and duct-taped padding.

So I learned quite a bit from my little tour. I even learned that those weird duct-taped racks are used for various types of ab exercises.

The Y staff also showed me how to use the squat machine, and the assisted chin-up and assisted dip machines. These machines DO have picture but having someone else show me means that I'm much more likely to actually use them.

I did have a revelation during the tour. I realized that all this equipment is used to work the major muscle groups and that -- get this -- I can use a variety of equipment to work the same muscles! In fact, there are lots of different ways to work the exact same muscles. As in, I can work the back muscles by using one of 4 or 5 different pieces of equipment. I think I had been laboring under the assumption that each piece of equipment did something vastly different from another piece of equipment. So I discovered that I really only have to do a few exercises on whatever equipment I care to use that day and still work the proper muscles.

I also learned that the dumbbells with the big, flat round weights on the end are no different than the dumbbells with the short, octagonal weights on the end. This had been bugging me, but now I know.
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First Salsa class tonight. I wish I felt a bit better energywise, but I'm still looking forward to the class. My dancing shoes are packed and ready to go!