I managed to get out of work early, so I used the extra time for a run. I planned ahead and brought my running attire in my backpack, but didn't have enough time to change at work; I was doomed to the public locker room. Here's the thing with me and locker rooms: I'd rather clean an entire locker room with my own toothbrush than drop trou in one. Middle and high school have scarred me deeply, apparently. Even back then, I hated that we had to change together. Shouldn't there be an alternate option for the girls who aren't 100% comfortable with their bodies (me) and who cannot pull off a quick change while simultaneously holding a concealing towel (me)?Luckily, on this particular Wednesday morning, all the bathroom stalls were open, so I changed in one of those. I realize it's unfair to use a bathroom stall as my personal changing room, so maybe someday I'll overcome my hatred of public locker rooms. For now, though, my focus is on overcoming my out-of-shape-(ness).
My workout was bitchin'. I was determined to follow the 60 secs. of running + 90 secs. of walking for at least 20 min. (which is what the C25K says I should be doing) and I made it for 30! My running speed hovered between 5 and 5.5 and my walking speed between 3 and 3.5. Of course my legs felt like overcooked noodles when I stepped off the treadmill, like they were going to turn to a pile of mush underneath me, but hey, 30 friggin' minutes! I didn't quite feel like a Gatorade commercial, but I felt good.
I had a couple extra hours later that night and decided to swing over for a second helping. I dragged Cyrano (the name I'll use to refer to my boyfriend; I'm a kidder) with me this time, despite his lack of decent running shoes or willingness to join me. Because his shoes are meant for skateboarding (he doesn't skate) and not running (see picture), we spent about 40 min. on stationary bikes. They weren't
typical stationary bikes because the pedals were out in front of the seat rather than below.<-- Like this. They are extremely uncomfortable. I adjusted it at least 5 times and I was still sliding forward out of the seat. After 40 min. of uncomfortable exercise and a few more spent persuading Cyrano not to give up and leave, we got on some upright stationary bikes. Our butts were thanking us. These ones were virtual stationary bikes (what's wrong with a normal stationary bike? are those outdated or something?!). These ones are like playing a really, really boring video game where you bike a loop and pass the same two virtual people over and over (one of which is pictured in my example). I imagine the point is to make it a little more "realistic", but you don't even have
to swerve to avoid them when you're passing; when you get close enough behind them, to the point where your entire screen is taken up by their seemingly see-through simulated spandex, POOF! they disappear. The controls are also awful. It was like I was riding with a tire that was at a 45 degree angle to my handlebars.The virtual bikes aren't all bad, though. There's music! I plugged my headphones into the jack and it played CCR, Stones, etc. Awesome stuff. Also, it tracks calories burned and heart rate (but how accurate are those? I bet not very). Along the bottom of the screen (you can see in the picture) it shows a graph of the differing elevations of the path you're riding (resistance), watts (how much power you're putting into each rotation) and I think the other one is heart rate. We stayed on those machines for maybe 30 minutes, I lost count.
By that time we had been there for over an hour, our last bus was coming in 15 min. and it was pouring outside (we were NOT walking in that). We ended the workout with a cool-down on the treadmills. Cyrano walked on the treadmill next to me, utterly exhausted, while I ran for a few minutes and gradually decreased speed for a nice end to the last workout before the gluttonous holiday weekend.
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