The first day I did sprints I wanted to die which wasn't overly surprising to me. It was a new exercise so being bad at it seemed pretty normal. What killed me, though, was the running at 9. I was barely able to hold onto it that first time and even then I only sprinted at a 9 once because I couldn't do it. The second time I sprinted I knew I wasn't going to be able to get through a full minute at 9 so I did two 30 second sprints. I figured I was still getting in my full minute but in a more manageable way. The third time I did the 30 second sprints again because it worked the first time around and well there as no way I would be able to sprint that full minute.
Today was my fourth day of sprints (obviously I have not done the recommended three times a week). As always I was nervous going in. Every time I do sprints my legs end up hurting like crazy and then I'm worried about pulling a muscle and then I don't go to the gym and then I remain fat and lazy. So you see, doing sprints isn't exactly a calming experience for me. Even with all my nerves, though, I was determined to put in a good effort since my overall gym effort has been lacking. I started doing my sprints and found that today it finally seemed to click for me. Running at a 7 was actually pretty easy and something I wasn't even sweating over. Running at an 8 was of course a bit harder but I was not dying at the end of it. And running at 9, well I finally was able to run it for a full minute....three separate times. I actually ended up doing 11 sprints in 46 minutes with a distance of 3.1 miles (yes, I made myself get to 3.1 so I could say I did a 5k).
What's really cool about this workout, aside from me being able to run at 9 three times, is the fact that I walked/ran over a quarter of a mile more in the same amount of time as I did the first time I sprinted. It was just one of those small reminders that I am actually getting better at some things. And let's be honest, right now I can take as much as those as I can get.
