Tough Tempo Time

I needed to do a tempo workout today, which normally I would have done on Tuesday. On the schedule was a "8-6-4-2" interval workout, which I usually enjoy, but today it was tough.

First of all one thing about this workout is that the first interval is 8 minutes, so you have to pick a tempo speed that feels challenging but that you are still able to maintain for 8 minutes. Normally I think I am probably way too conservative (Jenny and Mark have told me before that I am probably capable of running faster than I think I can); today I plugged in 10 km/hr and it felt so hard! I think it must have something to do with the fact that I did a run on Wednesday and cross training yesterday (not to mention all those lunges), and am just more physically tired in general. Usually my tempo workout is on Tuesday, and I usually do no cardio on Monday (because it is the day after my long run), so I am more rested.

But I kept thinking what Mark or Jenny (yes, they are my gurus) said one time, about the hard workouts being the ones that make you progress. Plus, it seems that changing things about your workout schedule is also very beneficial - we don't want our body getting too complacent or comfortable, or it stops improving!

So I really really REALLY wanted to stop but I kept going, and pushed the speed up a notch at each successive interval. Boy was I glad when I was done! I ended up doing a total of 5.6 km in 40 minutes (this includes warm up and cool down).

I was a "test client" this week for an exam in food therapy at the school where I got my diploma (that was why my workout schedule was all mixed up). As a "test client" you are interviewed by the student and have to tell as much as you can about your eating habits and lifestyle so they can write up a therapy plan for their exam. So I was yapping away, and the very nice person interviewing me said at one point, "You are very disciplined."

This just stopped me in my tracks, because I have never really thought of myself as disciplined, although that was always one of the qualities I always wished I had more of. A few years ago, I was reading one of Marianne Williamson's books* and she was discussing the idea that we wish we were a certain way, and how we can get there. Well, Marianne's advice is so simple: practice what you want to become, and you become it. I remember writing in my journal: "Practice being disciplined and you become a disciplined person."

And so I guess I would have to say that this is one of the benefits I have reaped the last two years in this crazy running adventure: by practicing being committed to my running workouts and not giving in to my feelings of wanting to stop every time it feels hard (which is often in running), I guess to my surprise I would have to agree with my interviewer, I have become more disciplined! And this has spilled over into other areas of my life.

And so when one of those hard workouts pops up, and we perservere and buck up and just do it, not only do we improve physically, but we become mentally stronger as well. How cool is that?

By the way, tempo runs totally embody Marianne's idea: Practice running faster and you become a faster runner! Now I just need to practice believing I can run faster!

*I just went to verify which book I was thinking of and it is "The Gift of Change" which was published in 2004 and is wonderful. Another favorite of mine by Marianne Williamson is "Everyday Grace".