Morituri te salutant

Are you not entertained?

Latin for, "Those about to die, salute you."  That's been in my head today.  Probably in regards to my respiratory exam today.  It was brutal.  Hopefully everyone made it out alive.  It was also in my head on the treadmill tonight.  That was some brutal shiz, but I'm getting better every time up.  That's always something to bring you back.  You know I am amazed at how much the Marine Corps taught me about running.  Now a little history: I've always HATED running.  There has never been a time in my life when I thought, "Hey, I know, I'll go run."  There were a few drunken nights in college when that seemed like an awesome idea, but I'm strictly speaking about times when I was in my right mind.  All that being said, after all this time, I still remember how to run.  When I was younger I used to tighten my entire body when I ran. Jaw clinched.  Hands balled into fists.  Scowl set firmly upon my brow.  (That's how much I hated running.) That's all just wasted energy.  These days I'm loose and relaxed.  One thing I have now that I didn't have access to in college is an awesome playlist.  It's so helpful to take your mind off the monotony and just run with the song.  Or to use the song as a benchmark, "I'm going to go as hard as I can through this chorus."  Other milestones on the run:  

1) I got really pissed at one point (I guess just thinking about certain circumstances going on in my life).  It was awesome to be able to instantly run that negative energy out. 

2) There were a lot of gym rats in there tonight and I could just feel their eyes on me.  Whether it was real or imagined it was motivating as hell.  I imagined they were placing bets on how long I would last.  Spite has always been a driving force with me.  

The biggest problem I'm having is after a CT like that one, I don't have anything left for an RT.  In the past I've always put a higher priority on my strength training, and I could always half ass a CT afterwards.  Well after a true 100% effort on the treadmill, there's nothing left in the tank.  I'm going to have to split my days and readjust my goals for the upcoming challenge.  See this challenge for me is about health.  I'm always going to be a strong guy (God willing).  I need to get some flexibility and endurance.  I want to start enjoying my youth while it's still here.  To do that CT's are going to have take precedent.  

lol, for posterity's sake I guess.  Not quite as intimidating as Maximus... Not yet!