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Wednesday, February 10, 2016

An unexpected Triumph!




Well, that certainly was an unexpected Triumph!

First allow me to set the scene....

A gal decides to do some stair-training on a cold winter night. She ventures into a 5-story building and spends about 35 minutes running up (and down) the stairways. She takes the steps two at a time (easier than single-stepping with her long legs). After 16 sets (80 total flights), she calls it good. Each flight has 20 steps, for a total of 1600 steps....but taking the steps two-at-a-time nets approximately half of that (unless you count all the steps going down between sets, which are single-stepped to avoid any awkward klutzy stumbles and/or falls). You can do the math yourself.
Call me crazy, but I love stair-climbing!

That was Monday evening, just after work, and the gal doing all the stair-training was me. I also did a quick mile on the 'mill upon returning to my house (#nevermissaMonday). All was well.

Tuesday arrives, and I feel fine. Until lunchtime. The dear old (and dreaded) DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) make an appearance. Ugh.

As the day progressed, the soreness increased. By the time I got home, my calves felt like knotted-up golf balls. With every. single. step. As I was climbing, I had felt some strain in my quads, but my calves seemed fine at the time. I have never experienced calf strain (or pain) like this before. Ever.

I had planned on running a few miles Tuesday evening, but kept procrastinating in hopes the tightness in my calves would diminish. Finally, around 9:00PM, I decided to just give it a whirl. If it hurt too much, or felt worse, I would stop.

I climbed on the treadmill, and took a deep breath.

Let's do this!

I set the incline on 2 (hoping the incline would help), and started running. The stiffness lasted briefly, and by the time I had done one loop (equivalent of a 1/4 mile), l was already feeling better!

Off an running, pony tail flip-flopping....

I upped the incline to 3, and kept going. My goal was to go 2 miles, and I was able to do it.

two miles at an easy pace....

I probably could have gone longer, but decided to call it good. I'm always paranoid about injury, over-doing it, and especially over-training. I knew I'd still need some serious foam rolling, and there was no sense in risking anything by doing too much on my compromised muscles.

DOMS, be damned! Those quick two miles did wonders for my emotional well-being! A small triumph, perhaps, but I'll take it!

I did it!

Stay tuned, there's a recap coming with more details on my stair-training episode.

Have you ever done a somewhat tough workout, and felt great afterwards...only to be blind-sided by the DOMS? Have you ever procrastinated doing a workout, but wound up feeling better when you finished? Do you ever do stair-training? 

I'm linking up with Deb at  Deb Runs  for the Wednesday Word.....which, today, happens to be Triumph. I invite you to head over and check out what everyone is saying about Triumph.









26 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, yes! Particularly after Becky gives me something new. There have been times where I could barely move the next day. Sometimes even a run doesn't shake it out. My foam roller has become my best friend the day I workout with her.

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    1. my foam roller was evil to me....I had to do a lot of muscle massage instead.

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  2. #boom. And that is why you are badass :D

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  3. Nice work! I have a friend who does all those building climbs and she keeps inviting me and I keep avoiding....
    Yeah DOMS for days with the squatting I do. #hurtssogood

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    1. I have done the Fight for Air Climb four times (three times in Des Moines and once in Chicago)...but I have never had this kind of calf strain. Ever. #humbled

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  4. Phew! So glad you were able to run it out. Level 3 is tough! I did hill intervals at level 5 and that was really pushing it for me.

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    1. I was pleasantly surprised how much better I felt while running (even though some of the DOMS returned when I finished). I'm just glad it's a short-term thing LOL

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  5. Every time I return to kettlebell swings I get inner thigh DOMs.

    And yes, I always feel better after I work out -- it's just taking that first step!

    I do some stairs, but nothing in your class, and with these short legs, I don't take 2 at a time (talk about an injury waiting to happen!).

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    1. ha ha ha...some times (at home) I take the steps by threes....but that's kind of a slow-mo thing ;-)

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  6. Yes yes and yes!!! DOMS are the worse and the thing is most times I don't really think I've worked a particular muscle hard. It is worse when it's been awhile.

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    1. This episode of DOMS totally blind-sided me. I've done the climbing events, and train on my own stairway....so this was not expected. Ha! Guess the climbing gods thought I needed some humbling ;-)

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  7. Stair training on REAL stairs! What an awesome workout! I always get DOMS during our yearly camping trip in Yosemite. I always think that because I can run 8 miles on a flat road, i should certainly be able to hike 4 miles at an incline... And I pay for it for the rest of the week.

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    1. It's funny (??) how the DOMS hit us almost always by surprise, huh!

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  8. I feel your pain because I did something similar YEARS ago... I'd been taking an aerobics class regularly, and when it was cancelled, I switched to another class. That class was extremely different and I spent the entire class trying to keep up (apparently from my tiptoes). The following day, I could barely walk. My calves were both locked. I've never had such painful DOMS since, even with all of my marathons I've run.

    Thanks for linking up!

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    1. A few years ago, we took a trip to Disney. The dry skin on one of my heels cracked open (#OUCH), so I must have been walking on the balls of my foot (without being aware of it). The next morning, I almost screamed with that first step out of bed...and spent the entire day hobbling around the Hollywood Studios park, my calf muscle (on that one leg) was so painful. It certainly wasn't the "happiest place on earth" for me that day LOL

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  9. I don't do stair climbing much. My lower legs are quite tight generally and with training for my race, I don't want to make it worse.
    Glad it turned out well for you !

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    1. I actually like stair-climbing as a cardio/strength training option. But, the DOMS totally caught me off guard... #humbledagain

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  10. You are a rock star. I wouldn't have even attempted that.

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    1. ha ha, thanks! I'm glad I took that chance and got on the 'mill. Of course, the DOMS returned as soon as I got off the 'mill, but felt much less angry. Oh well....onward!

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  11. the two miles actually felt pretty good...even if they had to happen on the 'mill. They are finally almost all gone ;-)

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  12. You go girl! I procrastinated on my first run after the half, but you know it wasn't bad, all 5 miles of them! triumph! You rock those stairs lady!

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    1. Thanks! I love stair-climbing ;-) It's a lot like hill-training....and sometimes you do feel it a day later LOL

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  13. Stair training? You rock! DOMS, oh yeah... I call it Monday. In the summertime, I can barely move from water skiing too much over the weekend. In fact, I don't even want anyone to tap my arm. But, it's also weirdly a good hurt.

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    1. I agree....it is a weirdly hurts-so-good kind of thing ;-)

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  14. I always feel better when I just the workout done. I'm having that conversation with myself right now! Yes, it's cold, but I'll feel better if I just get it done!!

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