45 Minutes of HELL!
Had a good leg workout last night with McD. Filled with pain and suffering and grunting and whining. Those however were not the 45 minutes of hell of which I speak. After my workout he adjusted my cardio plan to 45 minutes walking on the treadmill “at a speed of no more than 3.5 and an incline of no more than 3.5. Walk at that pace and you will increase the oxygen you take in and burn more fat.” Sounds good right? Burn more fat…awesome, right? Hell no! This is like torture to me! Not that I’m the super cardio queen or anything. I do my 30 to 40 minutes (let’s keep it real..mostly 30) and my motto on the machines is “If you’re bored, you’re not working hard enough.” So when I get bored I up the intensity. Well if 3.5 is my top speed and incline, there’s really not anywhere to go to keep it interesting. Additionally, 30 minutes is something that by the time you’re getting sick of it, it’s over. Forty-five minutes is another level…of HELL!
It turned into a mental game…12 minutes…”Twelve from 45? Hmmmm…thirty-three more minutes…Shit.” 18 minutes. “Who’s coming into the door? Ok. “Hey girl!”” 23 minutes. “Keep walking. Feel the oxygen pouring into your body, burning up all that fat!” 27 minutes…”Oh almost done… Wait! No!! SHIT! Still 18 minutes to go. “Damnit Dwayne!”” 29 minutes…”That’s NO damned progress. OHHHHHHHHH! I wanna go home!” 31 minutes, 45 seconds….”F*ck!” 34 minutes, 13 seconds….”That just 10 minutes and change left. Yay!” 36 minutes….”NO! Why is this going so slow?” 37 minutes (Staring at the wall) “WTF, is going on with this wall? Is it straight? AHHHHHHHH!!!” 39 minutes, 36 seconds, “Ok, that’s like the rest of this song and one more. Come on. I can do this! Come on!” 45 minutes, 1 second–SLAM the STOP button. “Whew! I did it. Thank God that’s over! I am getting the hell out of here!” It wasn’t the cardio strain, it was the mental strain.
This morning was even worse. I usually go to the gym in the mornings, but the extra 15 minutes really f’ed with my schedule. I didn’t feel I would have time to get dressed, wipe some of the sleep grime off of myself to look presentable for the public, drive to Diamond, do the 45 minutes, drive home, shower, eat, get dressed and get on the 8:05 train to work, so I just did the 45 on my treadmill at home. Like last night it was hell, but I got through it though it (missed the 8:05 anyway though…damn).
Weirdly I was not motivated to go to Diamond either because of this slow walking stuff. It’s kind of embarrassing to walk that slow on the treadmill when everyone else is powerwalking, and running, and going up inclines so steep they have to hold on, and cross-training, and stairmastering around you. I’ll probably get over the embarrassment as I am doing it for a reason, but still, I looked like a slacker last night. On the other hand, I have seen people who cardio their asses off and to be honest (and I’m not the only one to have noticed this…so don’t think I’m just being a b*tch…some of the long time trainers and I had a conversation about this a while back) they don’t look any different than they did when I started 8 months ago, so hardcore cardio ain’t everything, I guess.
Peace!
November 20, 2008 at 10:25 am
As I read about your time on the treadmill, I could totally picture it…lol. Keep at it…you will slide into those size 10 jeans before you know it.
November 20, 2008 at 10:31 am
Oh I soooooooooo cn relate. I’m a sprinter nt an endurance runner/walker so I hv to crank up the music in order to do the slow, fast burning cardio workouts on one doggone machine. It feels like forever…until u see that it has ended and then u think I DID IT…and the endorphins plus the since of accomplishment rushes over u and tht long mins of He** was WORTH it. You are doing great lady!
November 20, 2008 at 10:38 am
Thanks guys. I actually have a belt on my 14s today and just realized…hello? that counts as progress sista! *patting myself on the back*.
This morning on the treadmill I was reading M and F Hers and looked up and it was 46 minutes and 15 seconds. What? I didn’t even notice the time. I did a lot of breathing and walking meditation while reading and walking to make the time pass. I’ll get used to it, I guess, just like the rest. Yay!