Today’s workout offered a much needed reprieve from marathon (training) monotony.  Bored to tears with my neighborhood 5-mile loop, I decided to drive to UEF and run in it’s vicinity before my personal training appointment.  “A change of scene is just what I need,”  I thought as I sauntered in to the gym with the intention of leaving my keys, and some other cumbersome to running personal items, behind.  Class had begun just prior to my arrival,  and I was greeted by several Bootcamp buddies as they warmed up on the treadmills.  At this point, I was still planning on depositing my stuff and leaving to run outside.  But when Heather offered me the option of staying for class (a upper body and core circuit) and postponing my training appointment for another day, I jumped at the chance (after the initial world-rocking inconceivability  of deviating from my plan passed).  Marathon training has accentuated my rigid, inflexible side.  Not sticking to my written and mental plans makes me really nervous, just ask any of my running buddies.  But I’m so glad I squeezed outside of my box and stayed because as it would seem, that’s exactly what my training weary mind and body needed.  Knowing I have a 20-miler scheduled for Saturday, Heather kept me in check by not allowing me to go too fast during the running portion of class.  She actually came over to my treadmill and turned my speed down herself, after she saw me peeking at my neighbor’s miles per hour.  (But I showed her.  I turned it back up, just a little, when she wasn’t looking.)  For the most part, I was able to keep my competitiveness at bay and enjoy some non-solo variety in my routine.  I still planned on logging my 5 miles up until class ended, but I then spent a half hour catching up with one of my girls. (Un)fortunately,  I missed my window of opportunity to run since I had to be somewhere, showered, soon after.  Footloose and fancy free.  There’s always tomorrow.