Conditioning Work

So a friend of mine at work had a free month pass for Camp Gladiator -- one of these currently popular group fitness deals. She spoke highly of the trainers here locally so I figured I'd give it a shot. What I need is something to help me work on my overall conditioning (and strength) as I ramp back up into my full training form. I also could use a kick in the ass to keep onto my routine.

So I went to the 5:30 a.m. workout here in town and there was about three dozen folks there. I was expecting the worst - quasi-yoga self-empowerment yada-yada - but was happily surprised. Yeah, there was a little of that (and a lot of selling the program) but the main focus was staying upbeat and keeping folks involved in the workout.

And the workout was pretty much exactly what I wanted. It was almost precisely the same as what Coach Dean had us do on our conditioning phase without the speed work mixed in. Which is good since I'm avoiding that for the moment in hopes of avoiding injury.

It was also demanding. I finished totally drenched with that quaking feeling in my legs you get when you've worked out probably a little bit further than you thought you could have. There was that tired soreness as well but I knew that was just a taste of what my weekend would be like. Oh well, everybody told me it wasn't going to be easy.

Training Run

Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 36:44
Pace: 9:10

Comments: A powerful little summer storm popped up just as I woke up. It blasted through pretty fast and I got out the door to run at about the time I was hoping for. It was impressively humid but the big upshot was the temperatures were as cool as I can hope to get for the next three months.

The start of the run was a distressingly unpleasant slog. I had real concerns that the whole thing would be that awful but I got warmed up after a mile or so and the rest went very well. I didn't set any pace records but had a nice consistent effort pretty much the rest of the way.

Conditions:
Hour: 5:30 a.m.
Surface: concrete
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 68 degrees
Humidity: 90 percent
Wind: nada
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GT 14

Injury update: Nada.

Easy Run

Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 37:02
Pace: 9:15

Comments: Went to bed stupid early in order to get up in time to run EVEN IF insomnia set in. It did but I got up in plenty of time to get the run in anyway.

This went about like I expected. The temperature is as cool as it's gonna get anytime soon and the oppressive humidity is something I'm just going to have to deal with. I considered putting in five miles but decided to stick to this four-mile regimen until I get my routine down flat.

Conditions:
Hour: 6:00 a.m.
Surface: concrete
Weather: partly cloudy
Temperature: 77 degrees
Humidity: 78 percent
Wind: 10 mph
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GT 14

Injury update: Nada.