12/10 - Cycle and Run

Well, today was a split day between running and cycling. I hit running pretty hard last week and my shin was a little ache on the last half of the weekend. I decided to take it easy from running for a few days and see how it felt. Originally, I was going to take Monday, Tuesday off, run Wednesday. However, Mother Nature blessed us with 16 or so inches of snow. Instead of a normal workout, I did the "Rocky IV" old school workout and shovelled a hell of a lot of snow. A few hours worth.

So today was a welcome normal workout - 45 minutes hard cycle class (Kari was brutal on the hills today) and 20 minute run. I was a bit apprehensive on the run because I thought for sure my shin would hurt. It didn't get worse, in fact, after a bit of loosening up, it felt really good. No pushing it though, I stayed within my 20 minutes. I did change the speed, start at 8 min miles, then after 5 minutes, moving to 7:43. I left the incline at 1.5 and left both there as it felt really comfortable. I pushed it a bit with 5 minutes remaining, increasing the speed to 7:30 pace. Instead of going faster with 4 minutes left, I increase the incline each minute, first to 5, than to 7, then to 10 and held it at each for 1 minute before bringing it back down to 5 before settling into a 4 minute walk to cool down. I finished with the general strenght workout out and some stretches.

Today my thoughts while running centered on having passion - about challenging yourself to do something and believing that you can do it. It came from watching the movie Julie and Julia - which I recommend. I believe the movie represents two incredibly strong but struggling woman trying to find a place for herself. I, of course, relate this running. I think about all the souls who start to train for their first marathons, and after a few months of training, the tears and smiles they display at the finish line. For many people, the story ends there - and it is a great story. For others, it is the start of something more. It becomes their passion.

Run on!