A benchmark...and a hidden half-mile!

In keeping with my new-found goal to train for the Grim Challenge, I decided to go all-out today in my workout. The leg press machine now officially has me pushing most of my own body weight. 70kg of the 73kg I'm ashamed to admit that I weigh right now. (I've stopped myself putting it in lbs. for those unfamiliar with the metric system. Why? Because maybe you'll be too lazy to Google a conversion formula, and then I can imagine a consoling, "it's probably not that bad," being said.) I suppose to be fair to myself I should say that while I *do* have some weight to lose, quite a bit of it is muscle. After all, to chest press 23.5kg and squat 70kg takes more than slender, willowy, toothpicky limbs.

A nice surprise was in realising that I've actually been doing more work than I thought lately in running to and from the gym. Sebastian conservatively estimated the distance from our house to the gym at a mile, but timing myself (and double-checking on Google Maps) proved that there's an extra 0.4 miles each way, putting my bare minimum distance on a day like today at 2.8 miles. Add in the 2.7 miles of incline training on the treadmill (insert usual nostalgia for StairMaster here) and 0.86 miles of intervals on the elliptical, and I've racked up a gratifying 6.36 miles of hardcore aerobic training today! As Han Solo put it, "you know, sometimes I amaze even myself."

The point of these shamelessly self-promoting updates is not for the sake of vanity: it's to prove to myself that I *am* actually getting better. This way, when the last days of anxiety before the Grim Challenge make me question my sanity, I can look back at my 4-miles runs and (hopefully) laugh a triumphant laugh that I've come so far from my starting point. I will then face 8 miles of mud and water and muddy water without fear...or at least with a fear that is drowned out by the endorphins produced by a long run.