Wow! I can't believe it's already September. I've been very focused with my training, with my work as a waiter part-time at Denny's and with, well, everything else in my life. Things are going well and that makes me feel good about the hard work and dedication that I've made to 'Go Be More' in my own life. It's not easy because on most days there are all kinds of temptations that can try to take me off the right path, but through my faith and the blessing of hope I continue to move in the right direction. 

Yesterday I made an attempt at the workout made famous by Steve Prefontaine: the 30/40 workout in which you run 200 meters in 30" and continue straight into the next 200 meters in about 40" and then you repeat stopping only when you get way off pace! I wanted to go 5k at this fartlek-type rhythm, but only managed to average 32"/42". I believe Galen Rupp (one of American's brightest long distance running stars) did this workout and not only managed to hit the paces, but was even faster than 30"/40" for both the fast section and slow section of the workout. This is by far one of my favorite workouts now and one that I'm determined to get better at as I get closer to the 2012 London Olmypics. 

Today, 9/1/09, was my recovery day of 8 miles around Mission Bay Park. I enjoyed the run and was glad to have my body loosen up as the run progressed. I didn't do any strength exercises today because of how hard I lifted yesterday. I focused on self-massage, stretching and getting in a solid 20 minutes in the hot whirl pool. I have been a avid user of cold whirl pools or ice baths since college, but with no access to one have switched to using hot whirl pools. Thankfully the switch seems to have been of great benefit. My body is responding to the stimulus and I'm grateful for this because if I didn't have a hot whirl pool I don't know what I would do to aid my recovery. I'm sure I would come up with some alternative, but I'm glad I don't have to!!