Wednesday mornings have become my speed run workouts while I am training for the marathon. That has to be the biggest change for me after years of doing speed runs on Tuesdays. The workout today called for a mile warm up followed by 12 by one minute fast runs with a one minute recovery jog in between. Cool down was a mile but at marathon race pace, which is faster than my recovery jog. Having remembered my inhaler, I had a strong run and my heart rate peaked at 158 – right at my anaerobic threshold. The goal of the run. In all I ran 4.4 miles.

Late this afternoon I did my resistance workout. I am getting the routine down. One thing I have noticed is it is more intense than the weight lifting workouts I have done for the past two years. With plenty of lunges and ab work, my heart rate is elevated during the workout. Again I did my chin ups, a workout that is very hard but very rewarding. All I can say is that when I finish three sets of ten chin ups I feel so powerful I want to let out that grunt that Cher Lloyd so eloquently bluntly does in Want U Back. (Which by the way is a good tune to run to on the treadmill.)

Both workouts today gave me a good feeling of accomplishment. I have had a lot on my mind and I am dealing with some anxiety. In the near future I will write about what is on my mind, first there are a few details that have to be settled. The point is that beyond training and strengthening my body, exercise also gives me an out to relieve stress, time to think through what is on my mind, and that feeling of accomplishment. I am benefiting in so many ways. Stress can cause people to do many different things – binge on food, alcohol, or other vices for example. Life happens – stress will always be a part of it, but it doesn’t have to be the center of life. I choose to channel it to improve, not breakdown, my wellbeing. Another reason to feel powerful.