Today was a test of dedication. I got out of bed at 5:30 am, dressed and readied myself and waded through 8" of snow to go to the gym to do hill repeats! Hill Repeats! Not exactly my (or anyone else I know) favorite workout. It was 16 degrees with a wind chill of -5* and I went to Woods Fitness and sweated out 10 x 30 seconds at 10* of elevation and at a pace of 5 mph. I cut the workout down from 45 minutes to 35 minutes only because it took me so long to get dressed and clean off the car to get to the gym, that if I didn't leave, I was gonna be late for work. Needless to say I had the gym to myself.
I saw an old truck in the parking lot. I can only assume that it belonged to the guy who unlocked the door to the gym. I looked over at the row of treadmills and saw emptiness. I've never seen that before even under the most dire of weather emergencies. I had my pick of all the machines so I took the one by the wall out of sight of the old guy at the counter. When I do hill repeats, after a proper warm-up I set the machine at 10* elevation and 5 mph pace and leave it running. I stand on the sides of the treadmill and jump on, running furiously and then pop off the machine and pace around the machines to keep moving as my recovery. Then when properly rested, I jump back on and repeat. It would look strange to the usual members of the gym who walk on the treadmills and read magazines...me hopping and sprinting and jumping.....so I was glad to have the place to myself. I have though, on many occasions, done this workout in a room full of startled innocents. I can't begin to describe the stares and shocked looks I get.
Anywho, I got this one in and it was a dandy. I was still destroyed from yesterdays fiasco with the late afternoon workout after moving furniture. And I lost ten minutes but I DO have the satisfaction of know I got one in under Donner Pass conditions that a lesser man would have slept through. I am a hero in my mind.
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