Good morning everyone!
I hope everyone had a weekend full of fun; I spent mine running. No, not running errands or playing laser tag, really running.
I woke up around 7:15 on Saturday and hit the pavement for a 1.73 mile run. It wasn’t great, my time didn’t improve really, I stopped once to recover, but it was nice to get out there and finish the end of Week 7. And, somewhere in between running Mer to a birthday party at the roller rink and a quick trip to the library, I managed to convince Dennis to run with me on Sunday morning at the elementary school’s track. I hadn’t done laps on a track in a looong time, so I wasn’t sure how it would be, but I was excited to have a running buddy to cheer me on and hopefully keep me going.
We arrived at the track on Sunday morning around 8:00 am, and began stretching. It was then that I also realized I wouldn’t have blood pumping music in my ears either, since I would have Dennis to talk to (or at least huff and grunt at-haha). That made me a little nervous, since I tend to rely on music to keep me going, but I crossed my fingers and prayed I didn’t fall over after half a mile, only to have Dennis scrape me up and drive me back home…
While I didn’t pass out, I REALLY didn’t like running on the track. I found it extremely boring, and I missed having all of the changing scenery around me. I think Dennis was a little bored as well, and kept pointing out random squirrels as we passed them. He kept his pace a bit slower to keep with me, and announced it when he noticed I was slowing down. We stopped to walk after a little over a mile, for a couple of minutes, and picked it back up to finish 1.52 miles in 19.04 minutes. It wasn’t the super woman impression I was wanting to show up with, but it wasn’t horrible. While I hated the track scene, and the lack of music was tough, I liked having his presence there to make me try a bit harder. Plus, I’m pretty excited to have thrown an extra run in there. It sure can’t hurt! Maybe this will be a weekly thing… we’ll see.
Now, let’s move on to today-
Breakfast: Dennis made some scrambled veggie and cheese eggs early this morning, which I reheated and enjoyed with a cup of coffee. I don’t normally eat before a workout, but this morning was a bit wonky, as I had to run up to Mer’s school to turn in some forms and drop off her forgotten lunch, so I knew I had time to let my food settle.
Recylced photo, yet again…
Workout: Instead of running for distance this morning via the C25K program, I thought I’d try sprints to help build stronger leg muscle and help with endurance. After seeing a recent trend on some of the blogs I read, on the importance of cross training, and then having Dennis suggest it after Sunday’s run, I realized it was something I definitely needed to start doing. Since I’ve been actively doing consistent workouts since May, I felt comfortable throwing some sprints in the mix. If you are new to running/working out consistently, then sprints are not the way to go. If you are looking for a place to get started, check out this post. It’s better to start slow and easy, then work your way up.
I started off by doing some light jogging/speed walking up and down my street for around 8 minutes. I read that anywhere between 5-10 minutes of warm up is a good idea. Then, I set my timer for 25 seconds, and got on my mark. I picked a spot, about 3 houses down from mine as my goal, and hit start. Bang! I was off in a 60% effort sprint down my street to my goal line. The buzzer went off a few seconds after I hit the mark, and I walked back to my start line. I took an extra 2 minutes of recovery just to be sure, and started again. This time a bit faster. I hit the goal line again with time to spare, and walked back for recovery. On the third and fourth/last sprint, I laid it all on the line, and ran as fast as I could and back. I almost made it back to start in 30 seconds, before the buzzer went off. -I’d like to try these at a track to measure the distance I’m actually going.
I REALLY enjoy sprinting. I loved it in middle school gym class and I still love it. That rush of air in my face and feeling REALLY fast, makes me feel good, and gets those endorphins going. I’d like to do sprints at least 2-3 times a week from now on. I’m hoping they help aid in my quest to reach that 5K goal!
I also did some upper body/arm work this morning following the Tone It Up Girls- Lean Arms Pyramid I found via PBFingers.com :
Fun right?
*For a great article on ways to run like a super hero (or just run faster) check out this article from Nerdfitness.com. They have an awesome way with words, and lay everything out in way that’s easy to understand. Love it!
Alright, I’m off to grocery shop! Yippee! (insert sarcastic smirk)…
Enjoy your Monday ya’ll!
Amy
The Deviated Runner 