The Opportunity within the Challenge

Happy happy joy joy! Today was run day in the Badlands! And run days are fun da – okay, YHC will not insult you, dear reader, with the mendacious notion that merriment blossomed in the gloom of Davis Park just because burpees were not on the morning menu. Today was a run day, all right, but in lieu of a merry frolic across the 210 Bridge or an enjoyable sojourn through 20 Mile, the Pax pounded out a 30-minute interval run in the grim light of the far parking lot.

Interval runs are insidious things; they start out easy, but as the intervals progress, the lactic acid builds, and so does the attendant suckiness. (Yes, YHC just used “attendant” as an adjective – deal with it.) On the menu today: 90 seconds easy, 90 seconds hard. Repeat 10x.

In an effort to avoid any accusations that he surreptitiously plotted such a joyless endeavor, YHC publicized it (complete with an easy-to-digest chart!) on Slack the night before. Much to YHC’s delight, seven Badlanders embraced the challenge. Off we went to the second parking lot to –- whoops, change of plans, as the women of FUFIA had camped there for their Tuesday beatdown. So off we went to the soccer field parking lot to get the fun started. (Side note: In what can only be described as a physiological miracle, O’Steen’s shirt somehow remained attached to his body as we passed the FUFIA participants.)

Once in place, we circled the 0.16 mile perimeter of the soccer field parking lot for the next half hour. Kudos to the Pax for keeping their legs moving, especially Skim, who was dealing with a balky knee, and Yard Sale, who was fending off a bowel movement for the ages. (Yes, F3 brothers share everything.) A shout-out as well to Mr. Yuck and Kodak, two self-proclaimed Clydesdales who circled the parking lot with the form and pace befitting the most spirited of fastholes, which, despite their protestations, is exactly what Mr. Y and Kodak actually are. Mucho props as well to McDreamy and O’Steen for setting a stiff, trend-setting pace right out of the gate for the rest of the Pax. Lastly, YHC will note that if Doink thinks he’s a not runner, he’s wrong – he showed us today he is. #doinkpower

Here’s the shortest workout summary that YHC likely will ever author:
• Warm-up: Mosey to the soccer field parking lot; some downward dogs, some limp members.
• The Thang: Interval run – 90 seconds easy, 90 seconds hard. Repeat 10x.
• Cooldown: Mosey to the flag, a couple of minutes of yoga/stretch.

COT / BOM
Begin your day with an “I get to” mentality instead of an “I have to” approach. I GET to go to work. I GET to have a busy day. Whatever it might be. We often dress our opportunities as stress, but they are in fact blessings. We had to run intervals today? Nope. We were lucky, we got to run intervals. A lot of people in this world can’t. Count those blessings; see the opportunity within the challenge.

Prayers: McD; Squeege / Semi-Colon; others unspoken.

Thanks for coming out for a miserable workout and making it fun. Always a pleasure.

Slash