Sore is an Understatement
I’m sorer today than I was after running the Marine Corps Marathon and finishing the Ironman 70.3 Augusta combined. Now that my fall race season is over, you know that I’m trying some new things. One of those things is boot camp. After 2 consecutive days of intense strength training with my camp, I will openly admit that I am so sore it hurts to move.
So sore it hurts to …
- Raise my arms above chest level (and do almost anything with them for that matter)
- Walk down stairs
- Roll over in bed
- Pick up my back pack
- Change clothes
- Give a hug …
… Are you getting the idea yet? *wink!*
When I started my blog earlier this year, I promised you that I’d be open and honest and admit when I was wrong. Well, I will admit that as an endurance athlete who has been training for marathons and triathlons for nearly 3 years non-stop, I’ve unintentionally given boot camps and other similar workouts less credit than they truly deserve. I’ve scoffed at Mr. rUnladylike in the past when he’s gone to an hour boot camp class while I was “out running 19 miles.” I’ve read lots of posts and tweets about crossfit and similar workouts and thought they couldn’t possibly be harder than cycling for 3 hours and then immediately running 5 miles. What I’m trying to say is, I think I’ve been an idiot. I’m here today to apologize for ever dismissing strength training and boot camp as being less difficult or less intense than endurance training. Because the truth is, they are equally challenging, just in different ways. I’ve learned this week that despite how good of shape I might have thought I’m in from running (and swimming and biking), I’m in pretty crappy shape when it comes to overall strength and power
As I was struggling through circuit after circuit of box jumps, squat jumps, sit-ups, lunges, bear crawls, shoulder presses … you get the idea … yesterday (with already sore arms), all I could think to myself was, “Can I just go for a run yet?” Ha!
Here’s hoping that some of this soreness subsides so I can make it through tomorrow’s boot camp class! I’ll keep you posted on how it goes! Follow me on Twitter (@rUnladylike) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/runladylike) for updates.
What’s the sorest you’ve ever been after exercise? Have you ever participated in a boot camp before? If so, what did you think? Has it made you a stronger runner?
Comments
I’ve never done a boot camp, but have always preferred strength training to endurance. I was very surprised to find how sore I was after trying to run a few weeks ago! I guess we both found out that both types of exercising are difficult in their own ways, and important to our overall health.
Great post! 🙂
Oh, yeah. You’re using an entirely different set of muscle fibers that you don’t use during endurance work. I’m always more sore after strength. You’ll definitely see the results in your running and pretty quickly.
I am doing a bootcamp now and it is kicking my booty! Makes me realize how much strength training I was ignoring, I was doing lots of running, but not much strength. Getting out of my chair at work after sitting for an hour is brutal, I have never had such pain in my….
This is only my third week so I don’t know if it’s made me a stronger runner, but I sure do look forward to my run days!
Hah! This is so true . About a month after my Ironman I went to a girly “Belly, Thighs and Booty Bootcamp” and couldn’t walk straight or laugh for days without pain! But if a regular bootie bootcamper ran 10 miles they’d be barely able to move too. It’s all about muscle memory! I really think it’s good to incorporate things like this into running and triathlon training to increase strength as well as keep it interesting!
Glad you’ve been enlightened… mixed strength and cardio classes are my favorite! It’s fun to try new things!
Try Rodney Yee’s 1 hour power yoga DVD. I have been running and cross fitting since April and couldn’t live without this DVD to aid in recovery.
Gaaaaaw! I hate when that happens! You’re super strong and a stud for getting through all these workouts. Hope you feel better tomorrow!
I made the mistake of going to a crossfit class the morning before an 8K race I would be running in later that day (6p). Not only was that the absolute worst decision and worst run of my life, I couldn’t run for another week I was so freaking sore. Too many squats. Lol! I used to take a class weekly that was half boxing, half bootcamp and loved it but I don’t think I would be able to run and do that class. It would have to be one or the other for me but I would like to build up strength too so for now I stick with simple core exercises and arm work with light weights, high reps. Much easier recovery and it allows me to continue running, Good luck to you! I am sure you will adapt quickly and grow even stronger!
You’re doing awesome Jess and I can’t wait to see your progress!
I do strength training, yes, and I’ve never experienced the same type of soreness with anything else. However, my worst case was DOMS, following my first ever 8 mile run. Omg. Days and days of DOMS. A thing that nearly became a real injury but I beat it back. My opinion is that yes they are equally challenging but I just don’t find strength training as MENTALLY challenging. I think that’s why we runners hang onto our lovely pain trophy.
Good luck with boot camp- haven’t done that yet!
Hi Jen! I totally agree with you. There are few things that I can think of that are more mentally challenging than running a marathon. Good luck with your strength training and happy running!