i had mixed feelings during the twenty minute warm up. still a bundle of nerves from the ever closer workout. something about the unknown in running frightens me. didn't help that my legs felt a little tired.
fortunately this twenty minutes takes me around a park that surrounds the track. it goes by a little stream, through some trees, down a field, all of it on a cinder track. runners, walkers, dogs, bicyclists, students walking to school, old man doing tai-chi (or something like it), park employees repositioning sprinklers or picking up garbage or digging ditches. this morning as i came out of the trees section towards a baseball field, i light fog clung to the ground no higher than the chain link fence. as i strode into it the temperature seemed to drop about ten degrees. epic.
and now i'm at the track. i start with six strides. they are slower than normal. not because they are difficult but because i am thinking to much about the next part of the workout. that and i really need to go to the bathroom. so either from a desire to stall the next part or from real necessity, when i'm done with these sprints i go the bathroom.
now i'm at the start. i drink some water (another stall?), i do a few needless stretches, shake out, can't think of anything else, so i start.
the workout is 10 X 200m at 34 seconds with a minute recover at a 6:54 pace. after this i do a 10 minute run at 6:54's. after that i do another round of 10 X 200. same tempo, same recovery. two things scare me about this. one i've never done this many 200m before. i don't have much running experience. never did track or cross country in high school or college. i just started a few years ago and went right to marathons and half marathons. second, it's 30 minutes of speed work. yeah it's broken up with a minute recovery. but what is a minute.
it turns out i had nothing to be afraid of. i need to trust in my ability, in my training, in my fitness, in my coach. i need to believe that i can hit these things. i need to see the pain for what it is. like all of life, temporary. if i can just push through with victory. not that i'm saying this was an easy workout. it was tough. probably one of the tougher track sessions i've had. those minute recovery seem to shrink and shrink and shrink as you get more exhausted. then to finish all ten only to realize that this is only half the workout--tragic.
i averaged the first set of 10 at 33.25 seconds and the second set at 33:85. fastest was a 32:12 (the fourth one on my first set). the slowest was a 35:32 (the second one on my second set). this was my only one over 34 seconds. i think the problem was that i lost focus for some reason and thought i could just cruise without pushing. i made up for it with a 33:10 on the one after it.
my nemesis (the old asian lady that walks in lane one) came near the end of my first set. she was walking in the very middle of my lane which made it difficult for me to pass her. i finally thought that this is enough of the madness. i needed to talk to her. i was hopelessly out of breath having just completed the first set and barely choked out 'can you move into another lane for me?' she didn't respond. she just looked through me with those pensive eyes, lower jaw jutting out, stone cold face, and kept her slow shuffle down the first lane. i looked back she was still in the lane. but then suddenly she moved over to lane two. when i passed her i said thanks. 'thanks' she echoed back in a harsh snarl.
rocky = 1
nemesis = 0
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