Thank you so much for your thoughts and comments on yesterday’s Lance Armstrong post. (If you haven’t checked it out yet, take a quick read and let me know what you think!)
Yesterday ended up being randomly productive. I fully intended to do my usual watch-two-tv-shows-blog-read-nap-navel-gaze-cook-dinner routine. Instead, Stephen and I found ourselves getting shizz done. I am now on our car’s registration, I have my own ESSO card, and I can get gas! Huzzah! Those tasks eluded me for months – all done in an hour. We did all that plus hit up the gym before lunch. Bam! ThatswhatImtalkingbout!
At le gym, Stephen took a spin on the stationary bike and did abs while I treaded it up. I had 12 (yes, 12!) quarter-mile sprints to do. I think quarter-mile intervals might just be my favorite. Sure, you gotta run ‘em fast, but the are over before you know it. But 12 seemed like a lot. My big worry (other than the fact that I’d get all tired and junk) was that I’d lose count. I ended up switching my towel from left to right on my treadmill with each interval. I put my towel on the left for odd number intervals and on the right for even-numbered ones. (I read this tip somewhere. I think it was on Daily Garnish, but don’t quote me on that.)
It ended up doing the trick. I never lost count. Add in all the recovery intervals between sprints, the warm-up, and the cool down, and I ended up hitting 6 miles in a little over an hour.
My Stats:
- 6 mile finish time: 1:04:??
- Average pace: 10:39 per mile
Upon leaving the gym, we swung by the post office to pick up a package. Low and behold, more running goodness – the Gu and Nuun I ordered!
One of the things I didn’t consider when training for a race in a different country was that I’d be without some of the creature comforts that I was used to. I had some Gu left over from my last training cycle, but not nearly enough to get me through the many miles that lay ahead. So glad this stuff made the trip across the pond quick quick quick.
(And I just gotta say, having my Gu flavor is one of those things that makes me feel like a runner. Only Chocolate Outrage for this lady.)
I’m double glad yesterday was so productive because today is turning out to be very white.
Hope my neighbors don’t mind that I’m constantly taking pictures of their house. It is practically in my backyard and all.
Snow, snow everywhere. Pretty to look at. Not fun to walk on, drive on, run on, etc on. Here’s hoping it vanishes before my 15 mile long run this weekend. Ya hear that snow? I’m putting you on notice! You got 24 hours to vamoose!*
I love surprisingly productive days. Especially when it seems like the military powers that be relent and allow things to go right so that you can accomplish things (like the car registration). I am jealous of your picture of the snow. I don’t miss all the hassle of it, but I do love the way it makes everything look.
The stars really aligned to get the car registration taken care of. When we tried to do it a few months ago, we were number 100 in line! This time: no one was even there. The place was completely empty! It was meant to be!
The snow is really pretty! I’m liking it right now since I’m staying inside, not going anywhere! But like I said, once I’m ready to run, the snow needs to go.*
What flavor of nuun do you use? I bought pink lemonade to try, but I found it had a slightly effervescent bubbly-ness to it that tasted good but my stomach wasn’t a fan. Do all the flavors do that? Or am I just weird. It could totally be the latter.
That is an awesome workout. Best thing about doing speed work on a treadmill is the consistency of the splits!
I have only ever used the Tri-berry flavor, but it tastes pretty good. I put half a tablet in a big bottle of water the night before a long run. (A friend taught me this trick last year.) Letting it sit overnight cuts down on the bubbles, but it still does the job of keeping me hydrated.*
For sure you still snuck a nap in there somewhere?!?
Also, it’s against my religion to ask snow to leave
…butttttttt I guess I could make a small exception and ask snow to at least clear a path for you 
No nap yesterday, but I’m really wanting one today. I’m trying to stay busy busy busy so that I won’t end up on the couch under a blankie.*
We got so much snow here too! I’m opting for the treadmill today instead of attempting an outdoor run and breaking another bone
. When I was home for Christmas I stocked up on all of my gels/ nuuns etc. because you just can’t find them here!
Smart lady! I tried some Nuun substitutes (Gatorade), but they just weren’t the same. And I knew better than to mess with my stomach and try something other than my usual Gu. I was down to my final five in my box, so I’m glad I now have plenty more to keep me fueled for all my runs!*
It feels so good to get all those little tasks done. And now you can relax….which, as you know, is the most important thing. We definitely aren’t as isolated as you are when it comes having the comforts of home at our fingertips, but there are a few things that are hard to find here, so I’ve been relying heavily on amazon.com lately. I have a feeling the UPS man and I are going to be on a first name basis very shortly.
The snow looks so pretty! I hope it’s gone by long run time.
That snow is so pretty! I’m jealous of your productivity. I’ve had unexpected free time all week and I keep coming up with things to do that aren’t cleaning my house. Sigh.
Wow! Way to be productive!! And I really like your towel idea for treadmill intervals, I am forever losing count because I think too much lol. And I am super jealous of your GU and Nuun, it’s a runner’s happy place!
YaY!! You won’t run out of gas! So glad that didn’t take too much time out of your day! Boo to not having running goodies readily available to you. Hopefully you weren’t in dire need of Nuun and/or GU! Love your warning to the snow too!
I lose count on speed runs too. I’ve taken to actually keeping the number I’m on, counted on my fingers while I’m running. I’m sure that looks fun to other people. I used to have one of those cheap little lap counters but I’m not sure what I did with it.
Look at you, being all productive! I am so impressed. I’m also impressed that this weekend you will be running 15 miles! Go Amy!! Chocolate outrage is my favorite Gu flavor to…it may be the only one I will willingly buy…Oh I do like the espresso on too though, forgot about that one.
Being productive is like working out- you never regret it when it’s over!
I never thought about not being able to find GU over there. I’m glad you were able to order it, and even better that it’s your fav flavor. I know when I was living in Italy I had to have my mom send over peanut butter. It was something that was really hard to find over there (at least it was 10 years ago), or if you did find it was expensive!! It’s the little things!
And way to go for rockin those workouts!!
I would be ordering peanut butter by the case if I couldn’t get it over here! (We eat a ton of it!) I wish my mom could send me some other things that I’m craving, like this particular salsa that I like. Alas, it has to be kept cold, so it’s not really good for mailing. I’ll just have to wait until I’m back in Texas to get my hands on it.*
Maybe it’s just stupid me, but couldn’t you just pay cash for gas?
To buy gas on post (they sell it at a cheaper price), I have to have this darn card. I think it has to do with rationing purposes.*
Wow, 12 quarter-mile sprints!?!?!? That makes me tired just thinking about them!!! I really am so amazed with the incredible progress you’ve made with your training. It is so inspiring!
I love the tip about switching your towel from one side to the other, by the way. Thanks for sharing because I always end up losing track, too, and have to look at my watch/the clock and try to do some kind of haphazard calculations to try to figure it out.
I also never thought about not being able to buy GU locally. Yay for mail-order shopping, and also for the Chocolate Outrage (also one of my favorite flavors!!!)