30 degrees, 20 mph winds, gusting up to 40-50 mph - sounds like a great recipe for an outside speed workout that is basically all hill repeats! Add in dodging ice in the pitch black and it really gets fun!
That was my Tuesday night. I met with my marathon group at 6:30 for a spooky, super dark run around the neighborhoods to this brutal, killer hill. The workout was run halfway up, jog down, run all the way up, jog down, repeat. And by run up I really mean sprint, whatever that means when you are going uphill into at least 20 mph winds. Somehow our coach teamed up with Mother Nature and got the wind gusts going as soon as we started up the hills. This was a short workout, but it was incredibly tough, like as in my friend grunted out the word "ice" to warn me and I couldn't believe she had the energy to move her mouth. I have a tendency to think that short workouts are "cheating" but this was a good reminder that they don't have to be long to be effective (and that's what she said).
Just a mere 11 hours after that I was in Body Pump. Body Pump is a weight lifting class. If you hate lifting weights and can almost never force yourself to do it (like me), this class is for you. It gets the job done and usually has good music and the instructor tells you exactly what to do. It's basically the closest I'll ever get to a personal trainer, unless I want to pay the extra $100 an hour on top of my gym fee or whatever crazy amount they charge.
Last night I was at work until almost 8pm, handing out necklaces and signing in parents at our school's honor roll assembly. It was cute to see how excited my kids that made it were, since this was their first time getting a report card, but it meant that I was in hell when my alarm went off. The plan was to get up to do my 8 mile tempo run on the treadmill, and work on grad work after school. I told myself if I read a chapter before school, I could turn off the alarm and do the run after school. I just finished the first chapter, and at least after school the ice might be melted and I can run outside! Mostly in daylight!
I really want to include more pictures on my blog because I think that might look prettier than just making each paragraph a different color, but I never know what to take pictures of. Here's me in my running clothes, AGAIN?? Here's me when I set the self timer to take a picture of myself lifting weights in body pump and everybody pointed and laughed and I can never go back? (Not a true event). I don't feel that my typical day is very "picture worthy". Any ideas?
Since I didn't have any relevant ones, here's some random pictures to brighten your day. You're welcome.
You need a baby or a dog. They are always good picture taking material :)
ReplyDeleteI love pictures :-) Always makes things very pretty!!! but I like you anyways, so even if you don't add pictures i'll still read your blog! p.s. my warrior dash is aug. 14th & i'll e-mail you info on my date!
ReplyDeleteI would still read without the pictures. : ) I don't have anything to take pictures of either. That would be why they are all of my dogs and crap that comes out of my pockets.
ReplyDeleteYou're my hero for your dedication to your runs in the crappy weather. I would totally skip.
Haha, that's so funny -- I was just thinking about the issue of pictures, and how I was going to run out of pretty things to look at soon. I mean who wants to see my face a billion times?
ReplyDeleteAlso, the changing color thing is pretty rad -- I'm so curious how you do it. And p.s. you don't need pictures, your blog is perfect as is.
Lastly, I'm dying to try a bodypump class someday! it sounds so intimidating, I am a major weight-training wimp. I'll have to check if my gym offers it...
California and it's spoiled weather. You are amazing for battling the ice and running through it