DJ Steveboy over at djsteveboy.com is one of the reasons why I was even able to make it through last week's battle runs. One of the most difficult things about getting back into the workout groove is that life's small interruptions - like a trip or vacation - can throw your workout schedule for a loop. My issue with interruptions in working out is simple: once I get into the grove of going to work out every or every other day, I really don't want to stop because if I do, that usually means missing more than just a few workouts. I really needed every helper I could get my hands on to stay consistent while trying to enjoy some R&R.
So, before the trip to Aruba, I told myself that I'd have to see through actually getting in some workouts - regardless of how good or poor the hotel workout facilities were. Well, the facilities at Hyatt Aruba were nothing to write home about. In fact, for how much it costs to stay there, I would have been embarrassed to call it a workout room. Regardless, the one thing I learned with tri-training is that you don't need a workout room to keep up the pace. A pair of running shoes is really all that is required. In the case of Aruba, there was also the luxury of swimming, which is something I'm not readily able to do here at home (because of the weather and lack of places one can do decent laps). So, I had two things that I knew would be possible to do and thus had no excuse not to. Plus, being the ever-so-addicted tech geek, I wanted to get some use out of my Forerunner 305 I had bought late last year.
The day we arrived, I decided that since weather wasn't a factor, I should get started with a bang and go for a run. I brought an older iPod Nano that I pack with running-only music - primarily techno, trance and/or fast rhythm music with little lyrics. Because I'm not used to running in any type of heat at this time, I hit my first wall at around mile one. My mind started saying things like, c'mon... we don't really need to go that far. Calculations of calories burned floated through my head in ridiculous fashion. But, suddenly the iPod switched to the next track, which just so happened to be a Podrunner episode that ran about 150 beats a min. For whatever reason, it was all I needed to plow ahead. I got past the two mile mark and decided to go for three and made it (with a little walking).
I know from training last year, how helpful the right music can be for a given workout, but this is one of those cases where I probably wouldn't have gone much more than a mile without the mental boost (obviously my body was capable because the next day I was fine). There is one run that I went on and used a 170 beat per minute episode to really push through. It got me a full 2+ miles up the coast and gave me a view of the beach and ocean that I won't soon forget. In the end, that run was about 4 1/2 miles and was one of the longest training runs I've ever been on (I think I've made it past five miles on only a handful of occasions).
So, if you're out there, searching for music to actually use as a training tool, then I highly recommend Podrunner. It helps you set a consistent pace and provides an upbeat rhythm to keep you going.
