Energizer Bunny

Tuesday was a good training day. The weather was less than ideal - no snow, just 40s and rain. Yuck. But I got out there and put in a 4 mile run in the mud and rain. Sometimes it's so much more gratifying when you can out-train mother nature. It was one of those runs that you do simply because you love to run. And you think about how miserable you'd be if you couldn't run, so every step and every breath you enjoy what your body is capable of doing.
Later than evening I headed to the pool, with intentions of doing 400 repeats, to work on my endurance in the pool. Lately I've had trouble swimming more than 1000 yds in a workout. So I thought if I lengthen my intervals then the distance might go by faster. I did 100 to warm up and some stretches, then I settled into my first 400. It was easy. I just kept swimming - back and forth, back and forth. Sort of like a ping pong ball... I did 2 sets of 400 with 1 min of rest between them. Then I knew I only need one more set of 400 and a 300 to make a mile. So because I was on a roll I did 800 without rest. It was so great. I felt awesome. When I finished my 800, a group was getting organized for water aerobics that immediately follows lap swim, and one of the ladies says to me, " Are you training for the Olympics?" Then another one says, "How many laps did you swim?" So I explained to them I had just swam an 800 at the end, and a total of 1700 yards, and that I was hoping to train one day for an Ironman...
It was cool to have done my longest swim in a pool ever, and then have someone comment on how impressed they were by the distance. I smiled all the way home. It's good stuff.
It finally started snowing last night, and the temps have continued to drop. So it's mighty cold out today. If I'm feeling ambitious after I do some packing I may brave the great outdoors for a short run before GF tonight. Until next time...

Monday

Tonight it was off to the Lindberg center again for an evening of GF. Since we're not running much (or as much as I'd like) during the workouts, I try to get a few extra miles in beforehand. Tonight I went immediately after work with Henry, but we still ended up a little short on time and daylight, so we probably only did 3 miles. The GF workout was the usual circuits around the track. Maybe one of these days I'll have the abs to show for doing all those situps... yeah, that'll happen the day I give up beer and chocolate chip cookies!!
Tomorrow I'm planning a run in the morning, and a swim in the evening. Hopefully I'll be able to make tracks in the fresh snow... I love the first snowfall!

Weekend of Slacking

It's already Sunday night, and besides packing, well I haven't gotten much done.
I attempted to run on Saturday - here was my conundrum - get up early and run before having to be at work by 8:30am, get off work at 4:30 pm. Or get up early and be at work by 7:30 finish work at 3:30, run for an hour and be done by 4:30. I opted for going to work early, since at least then I was being held accountable by my boss for getting out of bed - those of you who know me, I am not one to get up early for a solo workout (I can meet anyone for a run at 5am, but to do so alone, ha! Not going to happen). But anyway, I went to work, and planned to come home, change and immediately go for a run - well, that was going great until a thunderstorm moved in about 3pm... I put on my "rain" jacket, and trail shoes and headed out the door. Within 8 min, the sky opened up and it started to "slush" (hail, but not) and the wind was blowing it horizontally into my face. If it hadn't started to thunder and lightening, I may have continued... but since I was the tallest point on the top of a hill, I decided to high tail it home. Quite literally, within 2 minutes, I was soaked to the skin. So apparently my "rain" jacket, is more of a wind barrier! Live and Learn, right?! My total run was 15 min. Hardly worth the effort. But it kept me inspired to do some situps and pushups and yoga stuff to almost call it a "workout". Then it was off for dinner and a night in downtown Minneapolis. From the Piano Bar to the English Pub to the Diner with AWESOME desserts, a good time was had by all. So I think next week, I'll be paying for my drinking and extravagence through twice a day workouts. Time to stop slacking. The holiday season is knocking at the door, so I best keep up the workouts so I can eat as I please. As my friend Anne Marie says, "Let the eating begin!"
Well, I best get on with more packing, so I can start to see some progress as I pack up the house. Until next time...