Breaker One Niner. Are there any smokies out there with ears on?

Yesterday was one of those make you or break you type of days. And I am happy to report - that today I made it.

The day started like many others - beautiful and warm. One of those nice summer days that you hope stays in your memory during the cold wet winter - and a reminder that life does get dry eventually in Seattle.

And at 1:30 I headed out to the track to do a new workout called, "the Breaker."

Intrigued? You should be.

When you hear "breaker," what images does that conjure up in your mind? Rocky Balboa slugging some dead meat? Submarines going in for the kill? A 50 foot wave carrying a crazy surfer? How about a stunt man in the upcoming G.I. Joe film?

I'm sure it wasn't a spandex clad woman chasing a motorcycle while spinning her legs at 140 rpm, backing off to 115 rpm's and then repeating this cycle. But alas, that was my definition of breaker yesterday.

Try this. 30 minutes of steady tempo. Figure out your average speed during that 30 minutes. Then do three sets of the following: 1 min V02, 1 min tempo, 1 min V02, 1 min tempo, 1 min V02, 1 min tempo, 1 min V02, 1 min tempo, 1 min V02, 1 min tempo. Rest 5 minutes and repeat. It's designed to break you.

And as I mentioned - you either survive or you don't. And yesterday, I survived.

To top it all off - I joined some friends for HOT YOGA. The teacher, Gary, with a somewhat militaristic approach toward yoga, complimented me that I was the best first time student he had ever seen in one of his classes. To which I thought with massive sweat stinging my eyes in the 120 degree room, this is nothing. I just completed a breaker.