Hard & Fast

There are two Y's in this town, and I usually attend the one that is the furthest away, downtown, only because it has the pools and awesome spin instructor. But, this morning I tried something new. The other Y, that I haven't been to yet, is just a short jaunt away from my apartment. So, with that in mind I wanted to run to the gym, lift a bit, and then run home.

After waking at 7am to a beautiful, sunny, September morning, I made myself a couple egg whites and peice of toast with peanut butter. An hour later I was out the door and hitting the pavement. It has been over 2 weeks since my last run. Despite the temp of 38 degrees and being able to see my breath, the run to the gym felt wonderful. My legs felt strong and the cool temperature felt good on my recovering lungs.

Once I got to the gym, I attempted to learn how to use some of the weight machines. I wanted to focus on my arms today. After spending a good amount of time on the machines leaving my arms feeling fatigued, I wanted to try something new. I was reading my new Runner's World magazine last night and there was an article in there about building leg strength. To sum it up, you hit the hills, hard and fast. So, I hopped on the thrillmill, warmed up with a half mile run, sprinted 10 seconds at a 7.0 incline (as the article stated), jogged for 2 minutes, did it again, and then followed that with a nice cooldown. Supposedly it's the best way... you avoid reaching lactate threshold and becoming fatigued. It also has the same demands on the muscles as weight training -- glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves.

Afterwards I grabbed a medicine ball and did some ab/arm workouts on the mat. Nothing too exciting, but was necessary! I do feel as if my core is stronger and I give thanks to spinning and pilates for that. On my run home I took it nice and slow, and ran the entire way. It was still pretty cool outside, but the sun was starting to warm up.

This Y that is close to home is going to come in real handy when I want an early morning run (since it opens at 5am). Especially when it starts to get too cold for running outdoors.... which I have a feeling will be here before any of us are ready for it. Yuck.

Today's workout:
3.62 mile run
upper body weights
medicine ball/abs