In Like a Lion

Me. Post-Workout.

I almost didn’t get my workout in yesterday. I had a couple of deadlines that were pressing, and I had to keep pushing off my run. It was after 8:00 before I could shut down the damn computer and wander down the hall to the treadmill. Even though I’d been cooped up all day and had eaten poorly, I decided to give my planned workout a try: 3 x 3 miles at 6:00/mile.

I’m glad I did.

I did a mile warm up and then cranked right into the first long interval. It felt like crap right from the beginning. The first interval of any workout is always like this for me. It’s like my body is full of rust and junk and needs that first effort to clean out the pipes. I held the course for three miles and then took a 2min break.

After cracking the windows open – the darn room gets hot in no time – I cranked the mill back up to 10mph (the highest it will go). It felt easy. I took a second glance at the instrument panel to make sure the speed said 10. It did. Huh. The 2-minute rest was awesome – I was feeling great.

In the past few treadmill tempo sessions, I struggled a bit in the last mile of the 2^nd 3 miler, but this time I didn’t. I wonder if that was mental: I tend to struggle when I know the workout is almost over – or the race. Some people find new energy when they are close to the line. I don’t. So it goes.

After another 2-minute rest, I was back in the saddle, unsure of how it was going to go. This third interval was new territory. The most I'd done was 2 3milers. But everything went great. My legs felt strong, my lungs had no problems, and even my guts behaved. Aside from a little heartburn, I was feeling grand. The last mile was a bit tough, but not physically.

It was awesome.

Seems to me that, this year, March has come in like a lion.