WWU - Cardio is Hardio

You guys, going from no cardio to trying to run a little bit is killing me.  My cardio is horrible and while it may be improving each time I run, it's in teeny-tiny increments that are barely noticeable.  This is what happens when you don't get to work out for a year.

I'm permanently banned from doing any jumping activities thanks to my delicate back - OK I am calling it delicate but after what I went through with nerve pain from my herniated disc, it feels like I'm only one wrong move from another herniation.  So I  can't do things like jump rope or burpees (yay to THAT), and after tearing my calf muscle nearly two years ago doing mountain climbers, explosive movements like that are also out.  Basically exercise, while good for you, is bad for me, haha.

My gym is doing online Zoom workouts but I can't get into them.  I think because I wasn't going to the gym (I was set to go back March 16 but we all know what happened to delay that), I'm just not motivated to do anything without my group and coaches in person.  Yes that's an excuse but it's where I am.

Thanks to all the walking we've been doing, my leg muscles are getting stronger, and I'm glad I had that base before I started running again.  But dang, not being able to control my breathing during my running intervals makes it tough.  After struggling through 30:30 intervals (walk for 30 seconds, then run for 30 seconds) for a week, I decided to try walking for one minute followed by running for 30 seconds for the first half of the mile run before switching to 30:30 intervals, just to give myself more lung recovery time.  It has helped, but it's also hard to know that I can't get more running done without a longer break.

That said, I had my best run to date on Saturday - maybe because it was dark, maybe because I was finally somewhere different than my neighborhood, maybe because it was kinda cold - I don't know.  But I ran my 30:30 intervals without feeling like I was dying halfway through, and even at the end I felt good.  Now, it was about a minute slower than my previous runs but I'll take it - getting faster will be a little easier once I can, you know, actually RUN.

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Random, but heartwarming:  While walking our big neighborhood loop, we saw the UPS truck and waved to the driver.  He said "aren't you Miss Shelley from the Arts Council?"  I left that job nearly 10 years ago!  I remembered him but of all the stops he makes, I thought it was really nice that he remembered me.  And then a few days later while we were running, he drove past, beeped his horn, and stuck his hand out to wave - cool!  

I haven't seen my fellow Renegades in what feels like forever, but one Saturday, we did a Zoom (had a Zoom?  I don't know how to phrase it) video chat, which was fun.  We also got to see all of the Renegade kids and babies, ahhh.  Logan was eating his beloved pumpkin bread while Mason had a bagel, complete with a cream cheese face.  They are so cute!

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Welp, that's all the news that's fit to print...er, blog.  Hopefully I'll be able to show some improvement with my running for my next Wednesday Workout Update!