Breaking It Up

The Dragonboat race is fast approaching and honestly, I can't believe it's been 6 weeks (or 7?) since we started practice.  I'm so excited to be part of a team-based race and being on the water is so new to me, and we even get t-shirts...so all in all it has just been an awesome experience.

Our practices are on Monday nights, and while normally Anais, being the nicest person in the nation's capital, would drive us there and back, but for the last two weeks, we've been running to our practice.  The concept of Run-Paddle-Run is simple: run 5K to practice, row for an hour, run 5K back.  The first time we did it in the rain, which made me feel (and look) like Rocky because everyone was all omg you so crazy just take the bus back and we were all no way, we got this and then we got home late at night and felt super accomplished.  To be completely honest, it's not anywhere as challenging as people think it is, and that's almost certainly because we are breaking it up.  Taking that hour-long break between the two runs where we focus on completely 'opposite' muscles makes for a great rest period while keeping our heart rate up. It doesn't actually feel like we ran 10K all thanks to the fact that we broke it up into two short(er) segments.

Another fun boost to your workouts (if you can't really schedule a mid-run interjection à la rowing) is to run with a purpose.  That is, not just a loop around, or distance-driven set run, but a run to the grocery store (pick one that's far enough away), to a casual event where it's cool to look sweaty, or to your office barbeque where your co-workers can pass you as you run and then all comment on how they saw you running, in unison, as you hyperventilate into a burger and wonder what secret route you'll take back so as to avoid similar future embarrassment. 

But really, try breaking it up.  It will likely make both of your runs stronger, more focused, and feel easier.

And now, some things I see while on the water:

And how the sky looks when we run back home...