Interval Training Tuesday - Feelin' the Burn

I think I may be on to something - this is two Tuesdays in a row that I've done a HIIT workout, and I kind of love it. Welcome to Interval Training Tuesday - let's see how it goes!

I had my regularly scheduled abs class tonight, but I also wanted to break in my new running shoes. What better way than with a quick jaunt on the treadmill? (um, lots of better ways - but it was humid and gross, and I just didn't feel like being outside!)

Tonight's workout was provided by my friend, Caitlin, who recommended it to me last week after reading my HIIT post. She linked me over to the blog Meals and Moves, where Janetha details a short & sweet 20-minute HIIT session. This particular HIIT workout is different from the one I did last week, in that the pace stays relatively steady, starting at 6.5/mph and increasing by 0.5 every minute until you get to 8.0/mph, and then repeat four times. The change-up is that the incline changes every round! Each time you start the four-minute set over, you also increase your incline by 0.5 until you end at 2.0 - and let me tell you, that is enough to feel the burn! I was absolutely dripping with sweat, and my legs felt so heavy by the end, even though it was just a twenty minute workout! Sheesh. I liked it, though, and it was definitely a good experiment!

It's been a pretty intense week actually, and it's only Tuesday!

On Friday night, after a few beers, I committed to an early-morning run on Sunday with my new running buddy & friend, Suzann (yes, she has a name! Hi Suzann!!) - and I do mean early. She told me to meet her at our local playground at 6:45 AM and she'd take me on her usual route. On Saturday, that seemed daunting, but on Sunday morning I was actually up and energized, excited for our date! I parked in the playground parking lot to wait for her, and after an interaction with a friendly cop (apparently, a lone girl in a deserted parking lot on a Sunday morning is a bit sketchy?... ha), we headed off. Suzann said we were going to do 7 miles - a full mile more than I'd ever done. I scoffed a bit, and said we'd see, but wouldn't ya know - my legs felt great, I felt great, my breathing was good, our pace was good.... and we just ran and ran. In the end, we got back to my car having done 7.61 miles. Just think about that for a few. My previous longest run was 6.22 miles. I AM AMAZED. The end. I felt like a freaking champ the whole rest of the day on Sunday. Talk about a runner's high!

Last night, I went to BodyPump and upped my weight a little bit on most of the tracks. I am definitely feeling the burn today - my muscles are on fire! In a good way. I like the way I feel the day after a weight increase: liked I truly pushed myself. I'm not dying, I'm just getting a gentle reminder all day of how hard I worked.

Last but certainly not least, I registered for a race today! I'll be running the Wicked 10k in Virginia Beach in October. This will be my longest race to date - and I am already SUPER excited. It looks like an awesome race, ad it's sponsored by Blue Moon! Easily my favorite beer, so that alone was pretty much enough to motivate me to register. I've already proved I can run the distance - nothing standing in my way. Boom.

OK, really finally: a few pictures of the new cat. Because who doesn't love pictures of cats?! Especially one this cute. (If you follow me on Instagram, sorry 'bout it, but you've already seen these.) Look!:

Watching TV... normal

Ummm hey guys.

OK thank you for this bed and this window.

Night y'all. Hope your Tuesday was intense!