Day 100!

Somehow I forgot to post this yesterday.

I woke up feeling a bit swollen and sore: lymph glands. Had some wheat slipped past my teeth or was I fighting something else? Not sure, but I jogged around for about 20 minutes outside. It felt too hot. I retreated to the fitness room, cranked the aircon down to 62 degrees, and hopped on the TM. After a 5 minute warm up, I started my VO2max intervals.

Fortunately, my legs felt better than the rest of me. I managed the first 3 minute interval and decided that the rest could be 3 minutes as well, as opposed to 2.5 minutes like last time.

The recovery/jog interval was very boring, though, so I shortened it to 2 minutes. This was a bit premature: my legs felt a bit lactic-acidy heavy during the next interval. My next break was 2.5 minutes--boring, but more reasonable. My legs were still a little burnt, though, and I was beginning to contemplate doing 4 intervals instead of the planned 5. Another 3 minutes of faster running, another 2.5 minutes of jogging, and I was geared up for the fourth and final.

Paradoxically, I felt really strong mentally during my intervals. No counting down or up, no covering the timer with a towel and trying to be somewhere else--I was fully in the exercise for perhaps the first true and honest time. It's uncomfortable, ENJOY IT. Feel how much more goes into going faster. Feel the momentum. Feel the hum of jacked up metabolism. Feel the discomfort. Feel the progress. Feel it, feel it, feel it. It was a revelation of sorts. There was a mirror and I was smiling. Maybe mostly grimacing, but it was good to acknowledge that I was stronger and under more duress.

Anyway, the fourth interval went by quickly and then I started jogging to cool off...but, wait! At least do a little bit, maybe two minutes for a fifth interval, just to see? The thought of doing another interval was onerous; I had to start it quickly. Two minutes' recovery, and I was off again.

Drawback of tricking myself: I wasn't fully committed and thus it started to get rather hard and I played mind games for the last minute and a half.

Benefit of tricking myself: once I got past a minute and a half, I felt triumphant. Tired, desperate for distraction, but happy.

I'm hoping to get up to 4 minute intervals for VO2 max before Emilie's Run...I think that will be good enough for the time being.

Total run: an hour.