Today was that day that required my full attention, full throttle. My good nights sleep was the gift that kept on giving.
I was up and rolling at 6am. Kids are back to school, routines are not missing a beat and life doesn't wait for you to catch your breath.
Jeff was meeting me at Genesys at 7am. Only he was going to be waiting. Austin's car broke down and I had to drive him to school. The earliest I was able to drop him off was 7:05.
I spotted Jeff on the gym floor at 7:35am. He gave me a lot of grace. Without many words he pointed to the bar for me to start doing my hanging abs pulls.
Jeff has been laying out his plan and I have attached to it like it's my own.
Today was TM miles, progressive run. Then hit the track for strides.
The TM was not giving me as much grace as Old Jeffrey did. It was a very agonizing run. I enjoyed listening to the rhythm of our feet turning over on the TM. Even though we were running different paces it appeared that we were planting our feet in sync.
Jeff did his number punching thing, slowly picking up the pace. I couldn't let him have all the fun, I went tit for tat picking up the pace along with him.
I turned to my right at Jeff. "LEFT, LEFT, LEFT..." He knew I was listening to our feet.
"Jeff, No music for you?" I added. I had my ear buds wrapped inside my shorts but was not listening to any music at that moment.
With a smirk Jeff responded " No, I don't listen to music, I listen to the rhythm of my feet."
Not surprised by his answer I respond "UGH, that would suck."
"So I am sure those trail runners of your don't listen to music either, aren't they purists?"
Laughing I respond, "No, no they don't either, WHATEVER, and they don't wear TUTU'S at races either!"
At that point, I was rather comfortable, easy peasy conversational pace. But the closer I approached mile 5 the faster Jeff was increasing the pace. Jeff was a mile behind me, he increases his speed every lap.
I was running a sub 8min/mi. I was sweating, breathing heavy, and still had at least a mile to go. Looking at how much farther I had to go is what really made me sweat. But then looking over at Jeff reminded me to SUCK IT UP and PICK IT UP.
Jeff said something to me, I responded but I really didn't want the conversation to move farther than my feet were.
"JEFF! Forget that PURIST crap, I gotta put my music in my ears, I am dying!"
We both finished around the same time. He had 4 miles and I had 5.85 miles.
BUT we were not done yet.
STRIDES.
Strides are about 100m accelerations where you run about 95% of your max speed, and then gradually slow to a stop.
We headed through the big double glass doors to the track. We were going to run strides on the straight ways, roughly 100m.
Strides are great for turn leg turn over. The last time I ran them with Jeff, he threw his back out. I did not want him to get injured on my watch.
We came around the curve and without warning Jeff took off.
I ran next to him and quickly decided I had to run my own strides.
I LOVE strides. They are quick, fast, and give you just a quick taste of torture without leaving the taste of vomit in your mouth.
You feel exhilarated when you are finished. It is a manageable torment.
WHY RUN STRIDES?
- They are quick and can be done within just a few minutes after a workout.
- Strides help improve your training.
- If done after a long run they help loosen you up.
- Strides are a great transition to increasing your speed training
As Jeff and I finished our 4th stride he reminds me that "You should still be able to talk...." I was laughing and responded "Does laugh count?" He said that counted!
As we finished on the opposite side of the track, we were chatting with ease I suggested we do 1 MORE... I jumped in front of him kicking my legs in the air. I danced around him "COME on Jeff, COME on, Can we, Can we PLEASE..One more...."
That last stride would give me 7 miles, he rolled his eyes laughing at my ridiculousness. But as we made that last turn Jeff picked it up and took off on me. ONE MORE BABY! He is was easy. Glutton for punishment. Pain in more fun with company.
My thoughts.
As the days move forward, without our consent, so do the struggles and hardships of this broken world.
I had a few curve balls thrown at me today. I found myself a little mouthy to a cashier just doing her job. It wasn't her fault my license was expired and she couldn't take my money. It was my fault.
Have you ever heard yourself outside of yourself? I sure did today. God really gave me grace and mercy with MY mistakes today. I didn't deserve it. But I decided after hearing myself I was not going to behave like that anymore.
So I was tested once again...over 2 hours at the Secretary of State. Then the computers literally ALL froze as I was at the counter getting ready to write my check.
IT IS WHAT IT IS.
I smiled and laughed with the worker. Then I found myself laughing and joking with random strangers. All the workers were then smiling and making jokes with all of us patiently waiting. My cashier kindly says "If you want to go sit back down and wait I will call you by name when the computers come back up." She was probably trying to get rid of me!
I sat down chatting with those around me. "This reminds me of a roller coaster ride, just when you get to the front of the line the whole ride shuts down." I chuckled. Then one of the workers responded smiling "Or more like it breaks down when you are upside down already on the ride!"
About 20 minutes, very loud I hear "ANITA!!"
Laughing, those waiting start clapping. Playing into it all I say "ANITA! Come ON DOWN YOUR THE NEXT CONTESTANT at the Secretary of State!" I am now giggling even louder. My casheir was struggling to cash me out she was having so much fun as well.
A good ATTITUDE makes all the difference. My day was scattered with unfortunate events. But until I decided I was going to grin and bear it, it really didn't seem so bad at all!
A good attitude changes your perspective on situations, it also encourages others that might be struggling in the Happy Dept.
Anita
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