Marshall Ramsey

This morning’s Fit4Change make-up session  (because of a snow day) was cold and very, very dark. (And since I didn’t have my glasses on I have no idea what I did for 40 minutes.)

And I loved it.

Both PLS groups (JSU and Madison Central) ran a chilly “endurance” run at Madison Central High School’s football stadium.  Apparently winter and Paul Lacoste were teaming up to kick our butts.  We had several stations — fifteen, I think — on a circuit spread around the stadium and we had to  keep running full speed the whole 40 minutes.  I ran the circuit three times. There were bear crawls, inch worms, gauntlet runs up and over stairs on the stadium, foot drills, push-ups, burps, and more.

If you spoke to me, I’m hope I wasn’t rude. I couldn’t see squat. I’m relieved I only tripped once (over a power cord.)

When I arrived at 4:45 a.m., my thermometer on my car showed the  temperature outside was in the low 30’s and it felt it. I jogged around the track a few minutes to loosen up my legs. I could feel the 14 miles I ran yesterday as I tried to get my muscles to quit hurting. By the time we had gone through the warm-up exercises, I felt great and was ready to rock. And rock I did — to a soundtrack of songs that were popular when I was in high school (Van Halen as opposed to the rap music we got down in the Payton Center.)

I can tell you a few things from this morning’s workout:

1. I am an uncoordinated #$%. My performance on the lunge-twists was laughable.

2. I can bear crawl and inchworm like I’ve never been able to before.

3. The darkness allowed me to sport tights without blinding anyone.

4. Overall, I kicked butt.

I haven’t lost 50 lbs. this year like I did last time. But I am in the best shape I’ve ever been in. I can feel it when I run at 5K or when I run 15 miles. My upper-body strength is much improved.  And when I have a workout like Friday or today, I no longer dread it. I have fun.

One of the highlights of the day was that Clark and Paul were there at the same time.  I’m not sure why it was a highlight, but since I like both of them, it was good to hear their voices in the darkness.

Paul Lacoste’s Fit4Change works if you do.  And this morning I worked (even if I couldn’t see a darn thing.)

The calm before the wind. The Overlook Park off of the Natchez Trace.

Ran 14 miles today. The weather started out warm but the temperature began to drop as I finished my run. North winds howled at mile 13, meaning that the last mile was into the wind.  I thought of Bob Seger’s classic tune as I struggled. I thought I was running with my parking brake on. And considering how out of shape we are as a country, I was truly running against the wind.

I’ve been down the past few weeks and exercising gives me the lift I need.  The trail was exploding with life as the leaves began to blossom — a nice reminder of life’s resiliency.  The color green kissed the bare limbs. Pollen dust ringed the puddles.  I ran from my neighborhood to the Natchez Trace to the Ridgeland Trail to Fleet Feet.  On the way back, I veered right and ran along the Ross Barnett Reservoir. I checked out the new shelter Ridgeland built and then headed up to Main Harbor Marina. I said hello to various fishermen and thought that was appropriate considering it was Palm Sunday, a day we honor the ultimate fisher of men’s journey into Jerusalem. I ran through the Reservoir Park and on to the Natchez Overlook Park.  I dodged a few cars along the Trace and headed on back home.  By mile 14, my legs were getting tired, so I walked the last .2 miles back to the house.  My right foot has been sore thanks to running on concrete Friday. I think I bruised it.

It set the tone for the day.  It set the tone for the week. It’s my last week of Fit4Change and I want to make the most of it.

Part of the hallway we run the Gauntlet on. It’s right by the racquetball courts.

We were supposed to run 16 laps on the track this morning.  We could have swam that distance maybe– a cold heavy rain forced us inside. That meant a change of plans. And remember, change is not good.

But fear not, my fellow blog readers. We still ran. And ran. And ran some more.

After warm ups, we did 10 minutes of the Gauntlet. That’s a long lap around the inside of the Walter Payton Center. Don’t ask me how far a lap is, but I suspect it is around 1/4 of a mile.  Like the wheels on the bus, we went round and around and around.

Then we ran 10 sprints the length of the gym (three basketball courts wide.)

But that wasn’t all: We ran ten more minutes of the Gauntlet.

An THEN we ran 10 MORE wind sprints.

Think that was enough? Oh no. You are wrong. Because we did 10 more minutes of the Gauntlet.

In all, we ran 30 minutes and 20 long wind sprints.

I had my heart rate monitor on and kept my heart burning at 170 bpm.  I probably ran as fast as I have run in a long, long time. By the end of the sprints, I was coming in first. I think it is safe to say that I’ve gotten in decent shape this time around.

But as I passed many of my Fit4Changers, I was very, very impressed and proud of them. I saw folks that struggled the first few weeks out there sprinting their hearts out.  They have truly taken it to the next level.

P.S. I packed a pair of my wife’s pajama pants that look like one of my seer-sucker shirts. A fine start to the day. No shirt. No service.