After much debate, Kevin decided that we would train at least 5 days a week. Training consisted of at least one long run (5-10 miles depending on his mood), shorter runs (3 miles at least) Stadium ramps and stairs, mixed workouts at the fire station across the street from our office, and swim days at our local university swim team training facility.

Long Runs
Our long runs took place on the trails at Forest Meadows. The trail at its longest path was 5 miles with shorter cut throughs along the way. A typical Sunday morning was the 5 mile loop plus a shorter add on loop to boost us up around 7-8 miles.

Short Runs
Our team ran the trails and paths near the office and a good, safe and reliable loop is through our local community college. This route is 3 miles exactly and makes for a good lunch run with some sprints added on to the end.

Stadium Ramps and Stairs
There’s no way to make this sound any better than it was. This was one solid hour of running up and down the ramps at our college stadium with push-ups, sit-ups, leg lifts and squats at the top of each ramp. The total distance ran (all ups and downs) was just over 3 miles. At the end we flogged ourselves just a tiny bit more by running the stairs in the end zone. This routine was one of the few that actually made me feel like I would vomit. No joking around on stadium days.

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Fire Station
Starting with a slow warm up 1.5 mile jog, fire station days were made of pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups, planks, box jumps, incline push-ups, bench ab rotations w medicine ball, kettle bells, stairs on the fire tower, throwing tires, pulling a fireman’s rope up the tower, and carrying the firehose up stairs. Hell, in other words.

Swim days
Morcom Training Facility became my new favorite place for lunch. Swim days were laps in the pools, pull-ups, back in the pool for laps, out for squats, back in the pool, out for push-ups, in for a lap, out for a mile run (in whatever wet clothes we just swam in) and back in the pool for more laps and exercise. No leisurely swimming here. Also note that some early swim days were about 50 degrees outside. This is not a problem in a heated pool but sort of chilly during our runs in wet clothes. Brrr.

So yeah this chick sitting beside me strapping on her shoes to go run, soaking wet, in 50 degree weather…yeah that’s Leah. Take note of her. She’s sort of a superstar.

Kevin was a genius for mixing up these workouts with different variations and motivating us to keep training.

This became my life, and lunch break, for the next five months.