Extreme Slows

Is it sad that I'm pretty excited that I might have slept through the night last night? I frequently wake up, move around, check the time, etc. I always go back to sleep, but I always wake up, too. Last night, I don't remember waking up at all. Not only that, but I had my clock facing me all night and didn't notice it. Usually I turn it around because then I don't look at it and I can sometimes forget that I've been sleeping for only an hour or that I have only 15 minutes before my alarm goes off. The first time I remember waking up this morning was at 4:19, and my alarm was going to go off at 4:30 so I could meet Anna M at the Y, so I just got up (feeling quite refreshed, actually). If my memory serves me, I sleep through the night maybe once a year, so it is kind of a big deal.

We met at MFY to do one of my favorite workouts: Extreme Slows. I hadn't done this particular workout before, but we needed something modified that wouldn't cause her knee pain. The hour flew by!

• Leg extension (sitting on a bench)
• Leg curl
• Hip extension
• Hip flexion
• Push up on knees
• Curl (12-lb bar)
• Plate front delt (10-lb dumbbell)
• Crate crunch

The benefit to having a new workout, and having a new workout partner, was that I really had to focus on what I was doing so that I didn't lead her wrong. Plus Will refreshed my memory on all the stuff I should be focusing on, like curling your hamstrings into the ground for natural balance, not leaning back, not tensing, and standing up/sitting up straight the entire time. Anna was so good at doing all this stuff and even got the "engage your glutes the whole time!" thing down right away. I was very impressed at how well she did! Her positive attitude made the hard work not seem so hard.

My run after work went OK. My legs were definitely still tired from Saturday, but I got in a good 3 miles and jogged the next 2 so that I could get back to my starting location. I'm going to have to practice running on tired legs to get ready for the Ragnar Relay in November, so this was a good start.