Back in the Saddle Again - Sort of

It has now been a week and a half since the Drumstick Dash and, prior to this afternoon, I hadn't done any workouts.  I've been fighting some sort of cough/upper respiratory crud for a while.  For the most part, I can deal with the coughing, well, during the daytime at least. 

The big problem is that the coughing is really jacking with my sleep schedule.  I've been bleeding off vacation time before the end of the year, so, at least I haven't had to work since last Thursday.  But, since I'll be going back to the rat race tomorrow, I decided to take some action today.

I headed over to the gym this afternoon and hit the stationary bike first.  Sure, I've got a trainer at home, but it was nice to skip setting it up and sweating all over the basement floor.  Anyhow, it felt GREAT to get my heart rate moving again, and I realized quickly how much my quads missed 'the burn'.  After 45 minutes of a pre-programed hill routine, I headed over to the studio for my weekly Pilates class.

I started doing weekly Pilates classes soon after the Ironman.  I had tried a yoga class, but I didn't really dig the spirituality they were preaching.  I'm not looking to become 'One' with anything.  I just want to be more flexible and have a stronger core.  So, Pilates seemed like a pretty good fit.

Now, to be fair, this is 'Mat Pilates', so we're not using a lot of hardware, like the famous Reformer.

Uh....No, thank you.

No, we just use a yoga mat and, for some exercises, a resistance ring. 

Okay, now THIS I think I can handle.

What I get is a really good core workout, plus some good stretching - especially for my legs.  Now, this isn't your run-of-the-mill ab workout.  Anyone can do a few crunches.  I can usually feel these workouts a day or two after the class.  Sometimes, I'm afraid if I sneeze too hard I'll poop my pants.  Yeah.  Good stuff.

But I digress.

Today's class was refreshing.  No, there weren't any crazy breakthroughs and I didn't suddenly develop a rock-hard six pack (still just a quarter barrel for me), but it was a still a step in the right direction.  We'll have to see how tonight goes.  Hopefully, I can get a solid night's sleep.  Then, I can give running another try on Tuesday or Wednesday. 

I'll keep you posted.