“I’ll Have Two Vanilla Cremes… Please!”
The Chronicles of SUN-day…RUN-days, Volume 1, Issue 13
On SUN-day morning I run. It’s just what I do. For years. Every SUN-day, year-round. All weather conditions. Home or away you will find me out running on SUN-day. I usually lace up my shoes and head out the door early SUN-day morning, but not always---on occasion I will run after church, or early afternoon.
Springtime can be an adventure in Colorado—at times a giant snowstorm, or perhaps temperatures in the 80’s, mimicking late summer---but today’s RUN sported a seasonal 45 degrees F (7 degrees C) with bright sun and newly budding trees. Perfect RUN conditions (but for me any day I can RUN is a perfect RUN day!)
This morning was a 1 hour and 10 minute training RUN, with MAV (Maximum Aerobic Velocity) Shuttles—a high intensity session with 20 seconds of RUN at maximum sprint speed followed by 20 seconds at jog or walk, repeating 7 times (20 sec fast, 20 sec slow, 20 sec fast...) High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) via MAV Shuttles, provides the following benefits:
- Increasing stamina
- Increasing base RUN speed
- Strengthens lower body and heart muscles
- Improves overall endurance
- Strengthens bones
- Increased production of epinephrine and human growth hormone (HGH) both increasing fat-burn capabilities
- Blissful endorphin-producing flood
- Relieves stress!
For me, the greatest benefit of HIIT training is that it ultimately leads to a body fat burn which lasts much longer than the training session itself! While this RUN training session burned 450 calories from start to finish, the “afterburn effect” boosts metabolism and calorie burn for up to 24 hours afterwards.
So, yes…I’ll have two doughnuts! Although not a nutritious, whole food (my typical nutritional choices), I occasionally do eat delicious, sugar-laden, decadent foods. A cream puff is the ultimate treat. And red licorice---absolutely LOVE it! Do I eat this kind of food every day? No. As of this morning, I am at 731 exercise intensity minutes for the week. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends 150 minutes per week—so I’m a bit above the recommendation. Can you maintain an optimal body weight mimicking my exercise routines and occasional, not-so-nutritious food choices? YES, YOU CAN!
And the vanilla crème? It was totally worth the effort!