Two days ago I went for my first sunrise run. I've done early - like 6 or 7am - to get long runs in before it takes over the whole weekend days. But on a Thursday of this week, I set my alarm for 5am and was laced up by 5:20. I even set my clothes directly next to my bed on the floor so when I opened my eyes I would see them mocking me to get up and suck up.
Anything is better than waiting til the kids and I are all ready and pushing a double through Virginia summer heat and humidity. And once I was out of the car and facing the Atlantic I was psyched and ready to make it a weekly thing.
So psyched, in fact, that by 9am I had almost forgotten I had already run - I had A LOT of extra daylight time. Kids and I had a great and busy day - by 4:30 I was so completely recovered that I thought I'd check into a class at my gym. I have been neglecting my strength training - a lot - and I needed to pull the bandaid off and get one under my shoes again. My favorite spin teacher, Taylor, was sub-teaching 'Cardio BG' -the 'BG' being for 'butt' and 'gut'. Ok great - hit me. I wake up at 5am to run; I am obvioysly a HUGE deal, (for today, anyways).
Well holy hell if Taylor isn't a four letter word in the cardio room! He must spell it like 'Talr' or something. They really should clarify that in the class description. We didn't do anything earth shattering - weight bar squats, lunges, squats, hops, squats, dead lifts, squats, bridges, squats, side planks, oh and squats. It was a great class; and like all great classes you love and hate it with equal passion.
Flash forward to yesterday. I normally love to feel sore just like the next junkie. I love that it reminds me that I worked out, worked hard and am creating change. If I'm sore then working out is working. Friday morning I didn't wake up sore. I woke up sooooore. I almost always do a spin and abs class on Friday mornings. Well how the heck am I gonna do that when I can't tie my shoes? Not to mention that I am seriously considering if I really need to pee or if I can hold and it? Skipped the class. I was in for an all day struggle. Normally I feel powerful with soreness - this day I felt like a powderpuff.
True story. But also; shoe tying, stairs, any mommy task, and generally speaking - anything that makes you move more than say your ...eyelashes.
The scientific reasons for pain after a workout is that's it's literally the result of microscopic tears in muscle fibers caused by an intense activity you don't regularly do. It's so fancy pants it even has a name and an acronym: Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or "DOMS".
I think I like an appetizer size of DOMS - but the entree is just too much for this mamma. I decided that this day I was too sore. I could have muscled through something but I wouldn't even have been able to give it 50% so is it worth it? A little sore IS awesome - but a LOTTA sore is a different story.
For total fun and complete non-scientific reasons here are five questions to ask yourself to know if you are wondering if you are too sore to workout:
1. Can you sit on a toilet without wincing and yelling "sweet Jesus why did I need to have coffee this morning?"?
2. Can you perform basic tasks of your life or job?
Examples include but are not limited to: being an unwelcome first floor office roomy just to avoid one flight of stairs and/or keeping your kid in pajamas all day because the shorts drawers is the bottom one and ain't no way your bending down just for shorts - especially ones that aren't even yours.
3. Can you go five minutes without cursing? Even if you drop something and have to pick it up?
4. Can you look at this and see it as obviously not real and utterly ridiculous?
(Don't lie, you think it's GENIUS).
5. Can you honestly say that SORE is not a four letter word?
If you answered "no" to 5 or fewer - you win a rest day.
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