Sprints!

So normally Sundays are my day off..but Wednesday I get to pick my momma up from the airport after I get of work which means I won't be able to workout Wednesday evening...so I'm starting my week early so I can take Wednesday off! This means that today was my first day of Sprints! Some of you may remember that my dear brother, David, helped me put together/come up with a training plan for me for the half-marathon and on some of the days he included hill training or sprints! Today was my first day of sprints! So my plan said I was to do:
- 10 minute warm up
- 6 x 100 (6 sets of sprinting 100 meters)
- 4 x 200 (4 sets of sprinting 200 meters)
- 2 x 300 (you get the picture)
- 2 x 400
- 10 minute cool down
Being the procrastinator that I am I did not get out the door for my workout until after I watched Call the Midwife *guilty pleasure* and so I had to settle for the treadmill over a track...I'm pretty sure the track would be a lot better (seeing as how I have to pace myself) but I knew that this was better than nothing. I ended up writing up a cheat sheet for myself so I knew the actual distances to run (in miles) and took that with me...it looked a little something like this:

The underlined number is the miles I sprint and the non-underlined
numbers are the miles I walk

I will be honest initially I was disappointed with myself, I ran the first 6 x 100 at 6.5 mph but then the rest I had to run at 6.0 mph. I think I was disappointed because I wanted to go faster...I thought to myself, "Ugh, really?! That's only a 10 minute mile...how lame that that is a sprint for me!" and then I proceeded to slap myself in the face and had to remind myself that I can't start where I am not at! Sprinting for me is at a 6.0-6.5....and THATS OKAY!! I can't start where I wish I was, where I think I should be, or where I eventually hope to be...I have to start where I am! Once I got over that little spat I actually enjoyed my run...it went by rather fast! My watch was a little off today...but I finished the 3.40 miles in 43 minutes. (side note: I looked up on the Garmin website and apparently the more I run outside with the GPS the more it automatically re-calibrates the accelerometer to my running style...so the more I use it outside the more accurate it will become inside!) 

I really liked my heart rate graph from todays run! You can basically get the gist of my run from it:

Heart Rate

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         Time (h:m:s)             Distance (mi)     

I had 14 sets of sprints...and my heart rate jumps up 14 times! :D What I like most...is how fast it comes back down..aka...the ultimate sign of cardiovascular conditioning! And this is what I looked like afterwards (and no I didn't have to dump water on me this time...this is all just pure mojo):

That means tomorrow I have a cross-training day...get to work more on those guns! :D Oh..and I read 3 chapters last night in my book...It's such an easy, inspiring, and all-around great book! One page in I had to stop and grab a highlighter (which I RARELY do) because there's such a wealth of information. A lot is info that I have learned just in being on this weight loss journey..but it's really nice to have a confirmation from professionals! Some great quotes/advice from this book (Lose weight, get fit, and have fun! The Runner's Wordl Big Book of Running for Beginners by Jennifer Van Allen, Bart Yasso, and Amby Burfoot, with Pamela Nisevich Bede, RD, CSSD) are, "You are the captain of your own ship, and you get to choose what course you want to follow." (so true! I can't make someone steer in the direction I think they should go...they need to decide what route they will take...because in the end they live with their consequences).... "While research has shown that runners generally have low rates of depression, it's the flip side of the coin that I find more impressive: Running gives you more energy and self-confidence. Running teaches you that you can accomplish more than you ever imagined possible." (I can say this is true first hand...and if you ask my sister, Erika, and my brother, David, and my sister-in-law, Elise)!..."you succeed in running when you put all your determination and self-discipline into it, and the exact same qualities will help you succeed at anything else you pursue: education, work, art, family, community, and more." (I again can speak to the truth of this statement, I am halfway through finishing my BSN while working full time as charge nurse (promotion...yay!)...and while working full-time to lose weight!) Okay...here's the last quote I will share (I'm telling you this book is amazing!), "To succeed in running, you need only one thing: a strong mind...It's the mental task that is sometimes difficult and always crucially important. If you have the drive and determination to become a runner you will succeed. You don't need a big heart, a thin waist, or strong legs. You only need the will to put your body in motion and to follow a sensible plan...But those (in the book) pages can't give you the most important factor of all: willpower. That's where you come in. Only you can hitch your mind to a beginning-running plan and resolve to get going. And not stop until you reach your goal." 

There you have it! That should give you plenty to think about until I write again! :D