After being out late on Tuesday night and getting up super early yesterday, today was a bit of a struggle on the energy spectrum!  I planned my workouts this week as an experiment and already know I’ll have to adjust – waking up extra early on Wednesdays to fit in a run and a yoga class before work probably isn’t going to be sustainable.  So I think instead I’ll just run and I’ll take a yoga class at my gym’s franchise closer to my office during my lunch break – that way I’m still done with working out before I head home but I’m not getting up before dawn (well, technically I am but 5:45 is much more reasonable than 4:45!).

This morning I went to my gym for a strength training class.  I always play a game when I set my alarm at night – I tell myself that if I happen to wake up earlier than my alarm, I’ll take it as a sign and will sneak in an earlier workout.  Never in my life has this actually happened, today being no exception!  So I took the class and had to get in one last quick training run tonight.

I was tired at work and flirted with the idea of skipping the run, but hello, this is my first week of training – I don’t think that sets the stage for much success! So instead I played around online and found a challenging interval treadmill run to try.  It was GREAT.  This particular workout called for 8 minutes of jogging, 4 of fast running, and then combinations of sprints and walking.  It only takes you through 20 minutes and since I had to run 3 miles I just improvised the rest.  I read somewhere in Runner’s World that part of the reason beginner runners don’t typically feel the runner’s high is because they’re not really challenging themselves speed-wise (because they’re still getting used to regular running) – this definitely rings true for me.  It’s the one thing I love about running on a treadmill – the ability to set the stage with your speeds and let the machine force you to keep pace.  The other thing I like is being able to watch sports while I run…otherwise I’m definitely an outdoor runner girl!

It occurred to me that the title of my blog is inaccurate…it should probably read LaniRunsTheLakefrontTrailAndTreadmillsWhenNecessary…since my “Chicago” running is pretty much variations along beautiful Lake Michigan…but that seems a bit wordy!