You're my friend

I made this speed workout up:

5:00 minutes warm-up walk
5:00 minutes warm-up jog
--
01:00 minute easy run
00:15 seconds 50% faster (these are not an all out sprints)
01:00 run
00:30 fast
01:00 run
00:45 fast (15.5 minutes total including warm-ups)
--
02:00 run
00:15 fast
01:00 run
00:30 fast
01:00 run
00:45 fast (20.5 minutes total)
--
Turn around or be at the mid-way point of a loop
--
02:00 run
00:15 fast
01:00 run
00:30 fast
01:00 run
00:45 fast (26 minutes total)
--
5:00 easy
--
Cool down walk (36 +/- total workout)

We did the above workout last night and ho-lee-cow, it was awesome! It was the right amount of "This feels great" + "I might die" + "I can do one more repeat! I can do it!" = "Great Run!!!" Molly agreed that this was something that she would do again, and next time we'll end with a negative split, something that we should have done with this but we didn't. This nice thing about this speed work is that another set could be tacked on. Forty-five seconds of not-quite sprinting is a lot longer than it looks on paper. We did it though, each and every step.

Since Molly trains people all week long, my job was to come up with the workout and then she'll make me stick to it. After doing some reading I've determined that the trick to getting faster is a combination of things. Putting in the miles is great, but by changing it up a bit you'll find that your form, speed and endurance will all improve. Its easier said than done.

Someone at work once told me that they were so impressed with how disciplined I am. I laughed. I have no self discipline. That's right! None. If I'm not accountable to another human being, I won't do the workout. 99.9% of my training is with another person. And much of the time, that other person is stronger, faster, and has more experience than I am. I'm not afraid of looking dumb, feeling like a slow-poke or worried about what they think of me. Nope. I will do the best that I can, on that particular day during that particular workout.

I plan workouts at least a week in advance, which includes who I'm working out with, I make a solid plan with them. Its a lot harder to cancel a workout if you've made a commitment to someone. I've competed in enough events in my life to know, pure and simple, that if you don't put in the effort, you're not going to get the results. If you show up on race day and perform badly you only have one person to blame. Now, performing badly and not meeting or beating goal times are a little different. Last year's triathlon was a huge success. While I wished I had better times, at no point was I thinking "Man, I should have done (insert training item here) more." In fact the thoughts in my head were more like "I worked my ass off for this!"

I know that being accountable to someone else means that I'm really doing myself a favor. But not everyone feels this way. Some people really like to workout alone. I give those people a lot of credit, especially if they can push themselves when they feel like quitting. I've gotten home from a long day of work, sat on the couch and thought "Nope, I'm staying right here." But then I realize that Pete is dressed and ready to ride, or that Marie is twiddling her thumbs at the gym. So I make a plan that includes other people. After writing that sentence I chuckled, because I am an introvert believe it or not. If given the choice I could rather spend the night at home alone rather than go to a party full of people. Decompression for me is quiet time. And yet I am able to decompress while training. Its a new balance that I've really come to love.

So the above workout is something that I made up. I may be really really sorry that I made that up and shared it with Molly - because she'll make me do it.