“Picture yourself vividly as winning and that alone will contribute immeasurably to success. Great living starts with a picture, held in your imagination, of what you would like to do or be.” ~ Harry Emerson Fosdick

Getting in Spartan Shape, Day 31:

G'morning, World!
Today was a Run Day... and I have to say, when I went to bed last night (a wee bit stiff in the quads and hamstrings), I was really thinking that staying in bed this morning would be AWESOME. However, in an effort to keep myself motivated and accountable, I polled my friends on FB, and the consensus seemed to be that I should get up early and run, as per planned (Instead of waiting and going for an evening run, or something). Then, to tip the balance this morning, as I was checking FB from bed as part of my wake up time (shut up, you know you do it too!), Spartan Race posted this video, along with this note:

"Tough morning Spartans? One of those days you just don't want to work out? Well we brought back a great video to help you. Watch it. We need a commitment from you today."


Soooo.... I took that as a sign from the Cosmos that I should get my ass in gear. I paused to watch the video ("Imma show YOU how great I am!" - Muhammad Ali), then I dragged my ass out of bed and laced up my sneakers. 


I walked out the door this morning and was met with a nice surprise - COOL air. It was only like 61 degrees. Let me tell you, that made me instantly anticipate running in the fall, because I already felt more energized at that temperature. 
Workout today was Podrunner Intervals: Week 6, Mix #1. This consisted of:

• 5 Min Warm-Up Walk
• 5 min Jog
• 3 min Recovery Walk
• 8 min Jog
• 3 min Recovery Walk
• 5 min Jog
• Then I tacked on another 4 mins of Jogging to keep my total run time up. 

I am actively working towards a 30 minute solid run, so I try not to backslide at all with the total time I run. SO, if I run 22 minutes one day, even if the next workout is less than 22 minutes, I tack some time on to the end (I have a spiffy downhill, across a parking lot route. lol), in order to keep the time up. 


Today I felt okay about the run. I was/am a bit stiff from yesterday's exertions, but I was able to complete each segment just fine, and I feel like my breathing is much better. I don't feel like I'm panting as much, at all... just towards the last segment I just feel like I'm running out of steam. But, I guess that's how it's supposed to be. Training my body to push the limit a little more each time. 
Incidentally, I happened to look at my activity today on Runkeeper (see sidebar, and you too can view my activities!) and it seems that I actually did this at a (unintentional) FASTER pace than usual. Woot! Go me. Maybe that means I'm improving in little ways that I don't even notice, yet. 


Alright. I will say that I'm eagerly anticipating tomorrow's Rest Day. Sometimes just giving myself permission to outright REST is a wonderful thing.