Working out before 7 a.m.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

I finally did something I’ve been trying to get myself to do for some time…get up early and work out. I love to sleep in on Saturday morning, but I had a busy schedule starting with a two-hour stint as a Wildlife Interpreter for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I was scheduled to be at the Beaver Marsh as an observer, learning the tricks of interacting with the visitors and offering them any assistance I could to make their visit a more memorable one. I don’t think the Park knows me well…but they’ll soon find out that people meeting me and getting my brand of nature will surely have a memorable visit. I’ll try to keep to the Park shtick…but that could be tough.

Anyway…I had to go from there to see Jason playing rugby in Mentor, which could keep me occupied through most of the rest of the day. It was work out early or run the risk of missing it altogether.

I made it to North Chagrin for the Survival Workout before 7 a.m. and went through the paces half awake. My knee has been feeling so good that I decided to mix in some short runs between lifting stations, which worked out well. In fact, it started me thinking that I’d come back tomorrow morning and try a straight 30-minute jog. It’s been exactly a week since the 15-mile trek in the Adirondacks and it actually feels better than it did when I started that climb. Maybe…just maybe…it will get better and I can avoid surgery.

I returned home elated about getting the workout in early and leaving time for everything else…and maybe a bike ride later. I’d like to say the pattern…a good one…will continue, but I won’t lie. At least I’ll do it again tomorrow.

Survival Workout duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100 to 150 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 600