Run, Zumba, Run, Soak

Yesterday I went on a little running adventure with my sister.  Julie started running a while back, but it is not her most favorite thing.  While she does like to stay fit, she doesn't like running as much as I do.  And that is A-OK.  While it is my favorite form of exercise it is not THE only form of exercise and I think everyone should do what they love to stay fit. Anyway, Julie is training for the same half-marathon I am running in March and I made out her training plan.  And since Julie has joined me on many runs and rambles, I decided it was only fair to join her on her little running adventure.

One thing Julie does love is Zumba. I like it too, but I am not very good at it and in gym classes I tend to be a clock watcher. Julie's plan was to run from her house to the gym (3 miles), do her Zumba class (1 hour), and then run back home.  I said I was game and Mom said she'd come babysit.  Julie's kids came to my house and I went to Julie's and we started from there.

The run to Zumba was great.  I was feeling fresh and my leg which had begun hurting the day before was feeling fine.  I'm not sure what was wrong, but for some reason the day before my ankle and calf hurt and as always when I get close to a race little pains like that freak me out.  So I foam rolled it, used the stick, and put Emu oil on it after my shower.  When Jason got home he suggested I put on a compression sock.

Now, I'm going to confess that I have often made fun of runners wearing compression socks.  Mostly in my  mind and maybe to Jason, but they always make me grin inside.  It seemed for a while brand new runners would immediately get a pair and begin wearing them on every single run... and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why.  The big talkers in our running community wore (wear) them too and I wasn't sure if they were injured or if they believed the compression prevented injury or if the socks made them faster... Jason always used them when traveling before a big event and for recovery afterward, and for some reason that always seemed more reasonable to me.  So when Jason suggested it, I went into his sock drawer and got one, but I was thinking, "this is not going to last very long." 

But surprisingly enough it felt really good!  So when I got up Thursday morning to join Julie for our run Zumba run workout, I put it back on as a preventative measure (although what I was preventing, I wasn't entirely sure).  I felt kind of silly and kind of hardcore.  Running.  With a compression sock.  Oooooo. 

So Julie and I got to Zumba and we shook our groove thangs to the beat.  Let me add here that I haven't got a SIGN of a groove thang.  Not even a hint.  The back of my shorts looks exactly like the front of my shorts.  And not only do I not have a groove thang to shake, I was wearing green tempo shorts (not flattering), a red marathon shirt (neither here nor there), 1 orange compression sock (hardcore runner statement) and running shoes in a room full of black tights and groove thangs.  I couldn't look in the mirror, so I just watched the instructor and pretended I was doing exactly what she was doing. 

I was a little relieved when it was over and I could get back to my thing.  I told Julie running was definitely easier than what we'd just spent the last hour doing.  The thing about Zumba is you spend the entire class trying to keep up and do the moves, so you don't realize that you are pouring with sweat, tired, and out of breath. But when we got back to running I thought, "Ahhhh yes."  Much better.

It was a little chillier running home as the wind was now at hour faces and we had gotten hot and sweaty in Zumba.  We made it back, however, and Julie hopped in the shower as I drove home.  I got home and hopped in the tub for a soak.  My friend Shannon had given me some epsom salt and I wanted to soak out my sore muscles (Jillian Michaels) and the calf/ankle.  I'd been wanting to soak ever since I got the salts but soaking with a wee bairn around can be challenging.  Julie stopped by Chick-fil-a on the way to my house and brought me a grilled chicken sandwich, which I ate in the tub.  Such service.  I got out, got dressed and generously applied more Emu oil before joining Julie and Ma for a cup of coffee and chat. 

So the Run, Zumba, Run, Soak was a success and I had a great time.  I'm probably going to focus solely on running until my March half-marathon (okay...and after that as well), but it was fun to get out of my element and shake what my mamma gave me... what little there is anyway.