Amy Musgrove: speedwork

Friday, November 9, 2007

Show me the speed!

I did three miles on the TM today, and I incorporated a little speedwork. Nothing too over the top, but speedwork none the less. Maybe if I continually do that, I'll be able to keep up with Brandon a little bit better. The fastest that I did today was 7.5. I'd like to be able to get that to 8.0 or even 8.5. I'm sure that I'll be able to do it gradually, but I'd like to build up so that I can do these fast parts for 1/4 mile, once around the track. Tomorrow I'll do 5.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

A great day for speed

Today I did my speedwork for my 4 mile run. It wasn't too bad, but the last lap where I was supposed to maintain 7.5 the whole time, I copped out and only did it for half of the time that I was supposed to. I then bumped it down to 7.0, so at least I was still going faster than normal. I'm curious to see how long it will take for me to increase my comfortable speed to above the 5.5-6.0 range. Hopefully this speedwork will help me. As I was struggling with my fast pace, all I could think was, "If running was easy, everyone would be doing it." I just have to stay strong and remember that.

About Me

When I want something, I'll do whatever it takes to get there. Whether it's taking a huge road trip to get where I want to go, or hanging out by the tour bus to meet a famous person...I'll do what it takes!

I'm a natural born leader, and a great listener. I don't like drama or being around negative influences. It's all about positivity for me!

I dropped out of college. Maybe that's the free spirit in me, who knows?

I always joke that's why I became a Group Fitness Instructor...no college education required! That's only partly true, actually. Don't get me wrong...I had to bust my butt to get where I am today. I'm so proud of how hard I've had to work to do what I do, but mostly, I became a Group Fitness Instructor because I discovered that I was passionate about it.

Fitness hasn't always come easy to me though. I'm kind of lazy by nature. (Let's just call a spade a spade, shall we?!)

I got married when I was barely 20, and moved all over the world with my husband's military career. I spent my time baking because that's what I thought I was supposed to do.

I gained weight, lost self-esteem, all while trying to squeeze into my jeans. It was not pretty.

I spent the first 5 years of my marriage like this. Then I got pregnant.

I gained about 50 pounds during my pregnancy, exceeding the "recommended" weight gain for healthy pregnancy by about 20-30 pounds.

During my pregnancy, I vowed (in between pan-fulls of brownies) that I would get in the best shape of my life after I had my baby.

That was the motivation I needed to do something positive for myself.

I started running and taking aerobics classes. I was feeling great, gaining self-esteem back that I'd lost somewhere along the way, and I was losing my baby weight. I accomplished more in the first year after I had my baby than I ever thought possible of myself. I ran my first half-marathon (13.1 miles) and became a Group Fitness Instructor! Two things I never thought I'd do, let alone within the same year!

The rest is history, like they say.

If you saw me on the streets, you might not know that I'm super sarcastic, or that I love correct spelling and punctuation (and when things aren't spelled correctly, it's like nails on a chalkboard for me), or that I've got tattoos.

Three words I'd use to describe myself: fun, outgoing, caring.

I feel so grateful for many things in my life. First and foremost, my awesome husband and amazing son. I'm so happy that I've been able to discover what it is that I'm passionate about in life. Some people take their entire lives trying to figure that out.

Here's to good health!