Feeling good...

Wow...what a difference a couple weeks make. Seriously...before finding out I needed to supercharge my body's iron levels, I had a hard time not getting winded on a walk around the block or a trip through the grocery store aisles. Now...a couple weeks later, I'm feeling almost like the old me. Almost...

The legs and other large muscle groups feel great. Running and biking (muscle-wise) don't seem to have been greatly affected. The lungs, however, aren't quite up to 100%.

That being said...I've had two really good workouts, two days in a row! I did speed work on Monday (running). Now, I'm a turtle, as you've seen me post before. I can shuffle along for miles on end at my turtle trot pace. But I'm not a sprinter...never have been. So...in an effort to test the lungs and maybe begin increasing speed, I set out for some 1/4 mile hard efforts. Pre-lengthy-poopy-feelingness I was running 10.5-ish minute miles when I pushed it a bit. So going in planning to push it a good bit I wanted to do some 2:15-ish 1/4 mile times. Not fast compared to anyone of you out there doing speed work...but I wanted an attainable goal for this first endeavour back in the "running shoes".

Imagine my surprise after my mile warm-up when I, the turtle named Mallie, ran a 1:58. Yep...and not on a flat dirt track. Up the slight hill on scorching Georgia asphalt that makes up my street...you could feel the heat pulsing off the pavement and slapping you in the face. My entire neighborhood ranges from mild climbs and descents to serious hills. Sure...again...many of you are putting in much faster splits. But I was freaking thrilled. Was it a fluke? Thankfully not. I hit right around the 2:00 minute mark on six of these splits in a row. I walked in between hard efforts and my second 1/4 mile is actually a little bit longer than a quarter mile, and I still hit the time (it's slightly downhill for part of it...so that's what I attribute the same time to). I got in a good warm up, a nice slow run after the splits and a good cool-down and felt great.

Then yesterday, again in my hilly neighborhood, I did standing high-gear hill repeats. Again the legs felt great and I was able to regulate my breathing and recover in a way I haven't been able to do in a long time. I finished off the day with an upper body strength workout and I was quite happy.

It's great to start feeling like me again, turtle and all.

Also, everyone...please send a few of your good vibes Renee's way. She had a nasty wreck on Monday (see previous post) and needs some quick healing in order to kick pardukey at her second triathlon on Memorial Day!