Happy New Year!

I don’t have any right to complain, but it was really cold here today in San Francisco!   I needed my warm top, gloves, a cap, and plenty of kleenex for a runny nose as I left my warm comfortable apartment for my run.  I challenged myself  today from my usual going out and running for 4 miles at a semi-comfortable pace.  What I did was that I ran comfortably for seven minutes, and then sprinted for a minute, then repeated this sequence.  At my pace, each sequence is about a mile, so by the end of the run I would complete four sequences and run for four miles.  The benefit?  This is a relatively short run for me, so instead of trying to run for a long time and increasing my endurance,  I am working on my ability to generate speed.  I am making my muscles get out of their comfort zone for a minute each mile, and increasing the muscles’ ability to tolerate speed.   Doing this is not easy!  My heart rate races and my breath accelerates, but it feels great when I have run back to my apartment, and can stop and stretch.  And, to my amazement, it’s not  so cold outside any more!