Am I just revoltingly sweaty?

I was having a conversation with a couple of other girls in the gym at lunchtime. A nice normal post-workout out chat but all of a sudden they dropped a bombshell. Apparently they don't wash their gym kit after every use. I couldn’t quite believe this so double-checked and they confirmed that they kept the same kit and washed it every 2 or 3 workouts.

I looked at myself. Post-workout, sweat dripping off my elbows, rat-tail hair and couldn’t imagine having to put this kit back on without giving it a really good wash. Or possibly burning it.

So question. Am I just a REALLY Sweaty Betty? Do you wash yours every time or do you try and make it last for a few sessions? The kind of person who ‘glows’ instead?

And yes ... I probably am that minging person next to you at the spin class who drips sweat on the floor and looks as though they’ve been dipped in oil. No. Don’t come and choose the bike next to me unless you REALLY like having other people’s sweat on you. What can I say? I have limited gym time, I try and make it count.

Yep. I bet the cleaners at the gym HATE me.

So … wash every time … or not?

Take my quick survey - I need to know I'm not the only sweaty girl out there!!

LINK HERE

Edited:

Results so far!!

Have Turned into Mad Hoarding Running Lady

A few weeks ago, I was bemoaning my lack of organisation and how upon arriving at the gym, I realised I’d forgotten to put my kit into my bag.  Mary of A Healthier Moo asked me how I didn’t realise I was carrying an empty gym bag. A very good question. 

So last night I decided to empty out my gym bag. I knew I’d been carrying around a fair amount of non-essential items but hadn’t realised I would be able to build an awesome fort and possibly survive for quite a while living only on items in bag. Plus have clean underwear. And cups of tea. 

In my gym bag:

• 1 kids activity set with crayons and stickers (for after those tough spin sessions. It helps as I rock alone in my corner)
• 4 jigsaw pieces (Anyone have another 12 pieces they can donate? Can make Franken-Saw)
• 1 Busy Bears Party book (for light toilet entertainment)
• 6 individually wrapped tea bags (for tea emergencies for instance if snowed into gym)
• 1 coffee sachet (see above)
• 2 zero electrolyte sachets (for those super-long treadmill runs)
• 1 shower gel (for fragrant showers)
• 1 pack of plasters containing 17 plasters (important to keep plasters in prime numbers)
• 4 tampons (for impersonating a walrus)
• 1 train ticket receipt (nice to know where my money goes. Trains apparently)
• 1 pack of tissues 
• Box of ibuprofen – empty 
• Lipgloss (for glossing)
• 1 pen 
• Mascara wand (Mascara Kadavra!)
• 4 hair bands (for multiple ponytails)
• 2 rubber bands (in case of a rubber band war)
• 1 giant pink paper clip (no idea)
• 7 crayons (for colouring)
• 12 safety pins (In case I need to wear 3 race numbers at once)
• 1 locker token
• Comb
• £2.50 in change
• Running belt
• Heart monitor strap
• Pack of baby wipes (in case of a post-gym shower malfunction)
• Mini gym towel (NO idea what these are for)
• 3 cans of deodorant (Because it’s good to have differently fragranced armpits)
• Tissue in a plastic bag (the chavvy relative of the tissues in a pack above)
• Personal alarm (In case I feel a PB coming on)
• 6 hair clips 
• 1 hotel room card 
• 2 bars of individually wrapped soap
• 4 pairs of pants (3 adult & 1 Hello Kitty pair age 3-4)
• 3 pairs of socks
• 1 mini first aid kit (in case any mini emergencies occur)
• 1 alcohol hand gel (in case the vodka runs out)
• Pair of gel insoles 
• 1 spare head torch 
• 5 plastic bags (in case I REALLY need to go shopping)

No wonder I didn’t realise my gym kit wasn’t inside! Have discovered am mad hoarder and when old will be mad cat lady in house stuffed to rafters with rubbish! 

Have started to remedy this by throwing out all rubbish. And cats. 

Running Faster by Not Running ... And Dancing in Front of the TV

I’ve got no more races planned this year. None at all. I keep thinking I should open up Running Diary or have a look in the back of Runner’s World magazine to book some in. But something is stopping me ...

I think it’s the freedom.

It’s liberating. I’m running for fun. If it’s wet and cold outside, I can do something else like an aerobics DVD with Three Year Old in front of the TV. I tell her it’s dancing and let her wear her party dress and we have a great time. The cat thinks we’re both completely mental but she doesn’t say anything out loud so we let her watch.

This week instead of running I went to the gym and did strength classes instead. I’ve done Legs, Bums and Tums and a class called On The Ball. It’s an attempt to get more core strength and to do something about my spaghetti arms. I’ve been meaning to do these classes for ages but I haven’t liked to sacrifice the time I usually use for running. It’s been fun. Not quite the same as running in the cold air and getting the Runners High but it’s been fun.

After a week of just gym classes and no running, I decided to have a go at the local parkrun. I felt strong throughout and comfortable and knocked 22 seconds off of my previous 5km best time.

I think this week’s rest from running has done me good. But a part of me can’t help thinking maybe if I don’t EVER run again, except parkruns, I could knock off 5 more minutes from my 5km time? However, I strongly suspect this may be crooked thinking and my innate laziness kicking in.

Bouncing on Balls Not ALWAYS Fun

Was on the waiting list for a gym class but went along anyway in hope ... and they let me in. I had my most pathetic puppy-dog face on so maybe they felt sorry for me. Or there was a free space. Either way I was glad to be there. I could do with some relaxation.



It was called ‘On the Ball’ and was a class bouncing on one of those nice big bouncy balls. It sounded relaxing. It sounded fun. It sounded just what I needed after a hard day running around after a three year old.

Needless to say, it was NOT a class bouncing on one of those nice big bouncy balls. It was a class which made me use weights. On a stick! A class which made me tie my legs together with a bit of rubber band and do thigh presses! It was not bouncing around on a ball in a nice fun way. It was using a ball to do weightlifting! And using a ball to do crunches!  There was no bouncing at all.

Yes. It was a good workout. And yes, I do think it probably did me some good. But it wasn’t relaxing.  I reckoned after all that craziness I was owed a glass of wine.

Unfortunately, it was a 2 for 1 workout. It makes you work hard and it stops you drinking alcohol.  

After all those weights, my arms were shaking too much to lift the bottle of wine. And I didn’t have a straw long enough to reach the bottom.

Lesson of the Day: Read class descriptions.

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Running at the Gym and Being Followed by Farts ...

I’ve managed to land a gym membership this month and it’s a bit of a treat. I tend to do all of my running outdoors, mainly on trails or pavements so I’m quite looking forward to being able to run in the warm and dry.

Trails are fine in the summer ...

I must remember NOT to do what I did last time though, and bend down on the treadmill to tie my shoelace before stopping the machine. I flew backwards nearly giving the chap on the machine behind me a bum surprise.

 

I’m really looking forward to it! I’ll be warm, it’ll be air-conditioned, there will be a cafe I can stop at for a coffee afterwards and a jacuzzi I can laze around and relax in. Plus if I need a loo stop, there will be toilets nearby. No more having to carry toilet roll on long runs. Or looking out for a clump of shrubs with suitable ‘bushy’ branches!

But ... one of my pet hates at races is that I always end up standing next to a stinky person. They’ve blatantly just climbed out of bed and dragged their running gear on and come to the race. In that situation, it’s a benefit as it means I start the race extra fast to run away from them. But what if they’re running next to me on the treadmill?

Or worse ... what if I fart? I won’t be able to run away from it - no matter how fast I set the treadmill. And people will KNOW that it’s me. And they’ll look. And gag.

At the gym, I do love that it won’t matter whether it is dark outside. No matter what, I will not have hi-viz gear flapping around my arms and I won’t leave the gym with the round circle on my forehead that means I’ve had to wear my headtorch at some point in the previous 3 hours. On one of my night races I even had a blister on my nose where the headtorch kept slipping down and was bouncing off of the top of my nose. It wasn’t a good look. Blisters are bad enough on your feet but I looked a right tit with one on my face. Looked like an advertisement for Lepers R Us.

But … the gym will have opening hours. It drives me mad when I’ve been busy all day then have to rush to get to the gym because they close stupidly early at weekends. There was an advertising campaign for one of the big sports companies where they said the “Roads always open.” It’s true (except on the M1 …when I’m running late. Was stuck on there for 6 hours once. Bloody M1) And they’re free. (Except the M6 toll … although I don’t think they charge runners.) I just have to get kitted up and I’m good to go. No payments required, I don’t have to get on the road - or off it - at a certain time and I don’t have to try and get one of those stupid card passes to work to use it.

Also, I don’t care what anyone says. If someone gets on the treadmill next to me, it’s a race. And they know it. I either have to be going faster than them or stay on for longer than them. One day an ultra runner will climb onto the treadmill next to me and that’ll be it. They’ll be carving “She started throwing up and wet herself but she still wouldn’t stop” on my gravestone.

You know what? I’m going to enjoy this month at the gym. I’ll be warm. I’ll have dry feet (bliss!) and I won’t need to fear blisters developing on my face. But I’ll be looking forward to going back to running outside. There will be dogs (including that slavering Alsation a couple of weeks ago), there will be rain and cold and mud. But … there will also be pubs, interesting things to look and trees … and best of all I’ll be able to run away from farts.