It’s four AM and I was already late for a workout. Yes another morning training with my training partner Jason in Pittsfield, Vermont. Our workouts are consistently getting earlier and earlier in the AM. Training has been kicked up a notch. As I have before I moved my zombie like body into the hot shower. The hot water rushed onto my body slowly waking it up and bringing me from dreamworld into the present. Happiness and this morning were not in harmony, I was tired and was pissed when Jason said I was late before it was even 4:30AM. I believe I told him I hated him a little this morning, not a great start to the workout. Just after 4:30AM our workout is in full swing, most people I know are still deep asleep.

I barely got a couple sips of coffee down before we were loading wood into the house with weight vests on (carried about 10% of my body weight). This is the beginning of the warm-up. After the wood was loaded we jumped into the next part, burpees with a full push-up. I found myself somewhere around fifty or so in, focusing on perfect form and soft feet, each push-up was getting progressively harder. Next thing I knew I found myself hovering less than three inches from the floor not able to move up, stuck. I couldn’t find the strength to push back up, my first failure of the day. We kept going, I was able to push out a few more before moving into a hundred or so bicycles. Phrase one of the morning workout was over.

We grabbed our snowshoes and headed out the door, the unseasonably warm weather brought a light mix of snow and rain which fell from the sky. Back in our weight vests we surveyed the hill behind the house, then headed down the driveway and across the street past Joe’s house. It was time for another morning on Joe’s mountain, home of the famous Death Race and other Peak Races. We trudged up the mountain by the light of my headlamp. Jason couldn’t find his this morning so we were left with one. I hopped the batteries were still good as we ascended the mountain. At least it would be light in an hour or so. A few of the sections on the way up the mountain were steep and turned into interval training with the added weight and the snowshoes. I felt my congestion in my chest as I soldiered on. We reached the cabin at the top of the mountain, light was just breaking for the day. Fog started to roll into the mountains and valleys as we headed back off the mountain.

We were both wet and I was chilled to the core as we arrived back at Jason’s house. It was just about 7:30AM and our morning workout was complete. I warmed up the half drunk cup of coffee left from hours earlier and revisited the shower before heading off to work. Over three hours of training all completed before many had even taken their head off the pillow. I still hate getting up so early but I love getting a workout like that in before the day has even gotten started.