I don’t think I’m cut out for early morning work-outs.  I made it, but just barely.

TUESDAY

I saw Sam when we got home from Redskins Training Camp on Monday night.  We decided that we were going to start speed work at the track on base the next morning.  5:00 came awfully early, but I somehow managed to make it out of the house by 5:30.  I was very tired and not looking forward to trying out speed work.  We got to the track and tried to figure out what exactly our plan was.  We decided that we would run a warm up mile and then start throwing in .10 sprint intervals, followed by .20 at our regular pace.  The first mile was tough because I was tired but I was definitely feeling more energized by the end of the mile.  Then the speed sessions began.  We decided just to give it all we had for each .10 interval.  .10 doesn’t sound like a long way, but when you are pushing yourself at a slightly uncomfortable pace, it seems to take forever.  We managed to finish out the 2nd mile with these intervals.  We decided to run mile 3 at our regular pace and then picked up the intervals again for the last mile.  I was pleasantly surprised at how I felt.  Don’t get me wrong, it was NOT easy, but I didn’t feel as bad as I thought I would.  Between the 2 of us, we had 3 GPS’s.  Both of our phones and Sam’s garmin.  This was the first run where NONE of the times/distances matched.  And they weren’t off by a little.  They were WAY off.  Since each lap around the track in .25 miles and we completed 17 laps, we decided Sam’s Map My Run distance had to be the most accurate (4.25 miles). According to her watch, we only ran 4 (liar) and according to my phone, we ran almost 4.5.

I was very happy with our splits!  Our first speed session was a huge success!  We aren’t really sure what the plan is from here, but we are going to try another speed session next Tuesday.

Although I complain about getting up early, I have to admit it was nice having it out of the way when Tuesday evening rolled around.  I did my core challenge in the evening and that completed my workout sessions for the day.  I have to note that Makayla asked Gabby to run with her tonight.  WHAT?!?!  Yes, that really happened.  Exercise is not really Makayla’s thing, so it really surprised me!  I was very pleasantly surprised.  I love to see them hanging out and having fun together!

WEDNESDAY

On Wednesday night, Sam and I went to the gym for Body Pump!  Our favorite instructor was back!!  She taught the newest release again, which is so tough on the legs!!

For those not familiar with Body Pump, its a great barbell/free weight class that challenges all of your major muscle groups.  It is 60 minutes long and consists of 10 songs (including warm-up and cool-down).  I highly recommend if you are looking for a way to target all of your muscles in one class.

I decided to pass on the core challenge tonight.  But we did complete a core track at body pump so I did get a core workout in…just not the challenge.

THURSDAY

Again, Sam and I decided to meet at 5:30 a.m. to run.  This time, we wanted to hit a couple hills, so we decided to just leave from our neighborhood and run down Chancellors Run Rd.  I was VERY tired this morning.  I was so tempted to cancel on her, but I somehow talked myself into rolling out of bed.  I decided to make a piece of toast with a bit of peanut butter, thinking it would energize me a little.  So, I was running a few minutes late was still not feeling energized.  Sam was quite the opposite this morning.  She seemed full of energy and talkative.  She looked really strong too.  I, on the other hand was having one of those runs where you start doubting your abilities and started to wonder why I even run in the first place.  Yes, it was that bad!  I actually felt quite fine physically and our time wasn’t bad.  It was ALL mental with me.  But the good news is that I pushed through and was glad I did when I got home.  Its done, its over with.  On to the next one!  Its days like these that I am even more thankful to have a running partner.  We always help push each other when we need it.  And boy did I need it today!  We ran the hills and only walked once.  Our average pace was 10:25…much better than it felt.  The smile in the picture below is totally fake 🙂

After work, I finished my workouts with the core challenge.  5 out of 6 days in August so far.  It gets a little tougher next week, so we’ll see how that goes.

QUESTION OF THE DAY – How do you get through a tough workout?  Do you have a mantra or song that does the trick?