week won

during my first seven or so days of training on the JCU intramural track (spring has yet to arrive here in Cleveland), i started out slowly. i spent a significant amount of time, prior to each of my actual workouts this week, holding my stretches (legs, arms, hammies, quads, calves, back, neck) for twenty or more seconds. my mother is a physical therapist, and she has always reminded me of the importance of pre-exercise stretching in order to avoid injury. i would like to avoid such nuisances in the early stage of my half-marathon training, so i am going to follow my mother's suggestions. my right heel started bothering me on day two and three, while my lower left stomach (attn: lungs) began cramping! i realized that i need to start drinking more water!

as suggested by my training manual, i started the first couple of days practicing what is called a "shuffle," which i would describe as a SLOW, no knee-lift float across the running surface with minimal arm/shoulder movement. this is a slightly uncomfortable posture, and i felt as if all the athletes on the courts below were staring in bewilderment at the ridiculousness of this shuffling. i wanted to follow the manual precisely, so i did not abandon this novel style of running.

aside from shuffling and light jogging this week, i was also fortunate enough to play pick-up basketball and make my FIRST appearance into the Corbo room, which are both parts of my cross-training schedule. i  have been hesitant for quite some time to make my way into the weight room due to my nagging self-consciousness and poor self-image. surprisingly, i was able to take advantage of the several Nautilus machines (i.e. linear leg press, calf, and seated leg curl)--all of which i lifted between 70-90 lbs for several repetitions.