Mel On...Hitting Autopilot (then getting my butt-kicked)

Today I planned on doing an easy 4 mile jog (around a 12:00 min. mile) around the new trail I found last week.  I can leave from the parking lot of the MMA gym and run for about an hour before I have to be back for kickboxing.  I love doing this because I can get in a quick solo run without being worried about having the traffic lights and intersections affect my run time.  Easy peasy miles...I like it.

I don't know what happened today, it was one of those runs that you don't plan on being awesome but it totally turned out that way!  The weather was almost perfect (upper 30's, chilly but not too cold -- which is really rare for this time of year here) with a fine mist blowing just enough to dampen your face.  Something about the combination of seeing the sunrise, breathing in the fresh air, and that cool mist just makes you feel so....so alive.    I love it!


The run was simply amazing.  It was one of those runs where somewhere in the middle of it you completely forget that you are running, your legs just take over and you don't have a care in the world!  I ended up getting back to the gym half an hour before I needed to be back...which really surprised me because normally I am right on time for kickboxing.  I hung out at my car for awhile and warmed up with some hot coffee then decided to take a 2 mile cool-down walk until class started.

 (When I got home I realized I had ran a 10:19 min. average pace...this is a big deal to me because I was not even trying to run that fast...and that includes stops at 4 intersections!).

Needless to say I was one happy camper by the time I got to kickboxing...one happy camper until Renee had us doing bear crawls as part of our warm-up.  I mean it's a warm-up for goodness sake.  Warm. Up. Apparently, that girl only knows one speed and that is torture...I think she has been collaborating with Amanda....

But, Renee.  She is awesome.  She is encouraging and motivating and will make you sweat..like, a lot.  She is also a really good friend of mine so I don't mind that I might have told her I hated her a few times today because I know she knows I don't mean it!  She also knows that my main focus right now is my run, so when I only give 80% to some sets she doesn't give me too much slack.  But heaven help me if I even think about dropping below that, like, for real.  She senses that crap and will come at me like Jillian Michael's on crack..."lower, Mel; pivot, Mel; harder, harder, HARDER; you can do it, Mel; high knees, high knees, HIGH KNEES, MEL"  But, I love it!

To get a sense of her madness, this is what today's workout consisted of:

• 1 min. 8x Jab/Cross, burpee, repeat, 30 sec. rest
• 1 min. right leg kicks, 30 sec. rest
• 1 min. left leg kicks, 30 sec. rest
• 1 min. high knees holding kettle-ball overhead, 30 sec. rest
• 1 min. low wall squat pulling back bands, 30 sec. rest
• 1 min. sit-ups w/ cross-punches, 30 sec.
• 1 min. kettle-ball throws w/ squats, 30 sec. rest

We repeated this series with 1 min. breaks in between for 4 sets.  Oiy.  My legs and arms are killing me!

Now for some major stretching and some rest cause I got me some Amanda love coming my way tomorrow....