Gym beastings

It was a good night in the gym this evening, as part of my training I train in the gym three times a week. Friday evening is the session which I feel is the easiest as I have a rest from a distance run session. My gym routine starts with a five minute run to warm up, sometimes I use the cross trainer to mix it up a bit and to warm up my upper body muscles. Then its onto the treadmill for a two and a half minute tempo run at 12.5 Kph, straight off the machine and onto the Chest press or Fly machine currently I’m pressing 65Kg but that will go up next week, after banging out 15 reps its straight on to the Leg press for another 15 at 135 Kg. There is no hanging around between machines looking in mirrors or acting the gym junkie, the point is to work out hard with intensity.
From the leg press its up and on to the Shoulder press for 15 reps at 45Kg, pushing them out hard, fast and smoothly as possible. UpI get, next up is the Abductor machine, feet in the stirrups, knees against the pads and pushing outwards against 115Kg resistance fifteen times off and on to the Adductor machine this time squeezing the knees together against 115kg. If I’m focused as I should be, I am giving it my all and I feel it now as I get off the machine and quickly get over to the Seated Row 55Kg pulling at 15 reps, building my back muscles to be able to carry my pack over the desert for mile after mile. As I finish I jog over to the treadmill and get on it again to run at 12.5 kph for another 2.5 minutes...Then repeat the whole lot ....Then repeat again. If I am on my chin strap I give myself one minute rest after the Tempo run.
As I ran tonight on the treadmill I asked myself how much do I want this? The answer came back I want it totally, I am focused and I feel strong as I run. In 2.5 Minutes at 12.5 Kph I cover half a Km.
After the third set of this I start on my core strength work, one minute plank, one minute extended plank, 15 raised leg extension crunches, 15 V up leg raised side to sides with a 4-5Kg medicine ball or weight. By now my abs are screaming at me, then its 15 squat thrusts with ankles resting on the Swiss ball with arms extended. Then I get to rest for a minute before repeating the core workout again.
I like Friday gym sessions because a gym session is all I have to do. On Mondays I first run a five mile recovery run (recovery from the 20 mile or marathon the day before). Wednesday is harder as before my gym session I first have a seven mile time trial run.
It is good training not only physically but mentally, by the time I’m doing my core workout my body is trembling and I am exhausted, but that is nothing compared to how I’ll feel in the later stages of the UltraMarathon having run across 126 Miles of desert in extreme temperatures carrying my equipment on my back. Then is not the time to realise that I didn’t train hard enough, that I wasn’t hard enough on myself while I was training. It was Count Alexander Suvorov who said ‘Train hard fight easy’ so when I’ve just finished my seven miles time trial and am exhausted that is when its most important for me to hit the weights, and when I have done a set and my legs are wobbling and tired, when I have no energy left I get on that tread mill and crank it up to 12.5 Kph and breath and run and prove to myself that no matter how tired I am I can make my body do what I want it to. I can go always a little further.
Its been five days now since I restricted the carbohydrates and my body is using stored body fat for energy, its hard work and I’m tired but thats good mental training too.