week three with mr. daniels

this morning i ran the same workout that i have for the last two weeks. i went into it with a little bit of fear i must confess for two reasons. first this is the first week of ministry since the break in august and it started up with momentum. jared is in the sudan and asked me to teach for the first riot and i also taught for credo on tuesday night. two long nights in a row with less sleep than normal. the second thing i had working against me was last nights run. i wasn't sure how having to runs so close together would pan out in my times. fortunately these fears proved to be inconsequential.

the first six strides i hit with power, relaxation, and times that have been unparalleled--only one over 21 seconds. after a two lap cool down, i paused briefly for a drink. i stretched this brief pause out, fearing the next 20 minutes of tempo pace. i was actually hoping christy would call saying that she was in labor so that i wouldn't have to run. but what was it that i was really afraid of? basically it comes down to this . . . that i am not up to this task. not just this workout but this running goal that i have, that this whole blog is devoted to. that i'll try and fail. that i'll go half way into it and fall flat on my face. finally, i realized i was stalling, set my water bottle on the turf, jogged for a moment in a little arch, and pushed off the staring line.

this 20 minute run would best be described as controlled. so incredibly controlled. i was just locked in this pocket, this gear, that gave me incredible consistent times without much increase in effort over the course of the 14 and a half laps at 1:24. there was one point where i lost my focus, my mind flying somewhere else. this was my slowest 400m. after i realized this, i re-tuned my mind and focused all the way through the end. it was beautiful.

next was an 800m cool down into six more strides. the past two thursdays, these strides have been the hardest part of the workout. after running for all these miles, after already putting in six strides, after this tempo run, to push through six more sprints is a difficult tasks. your legs are jello and you have to strain yourself through each one, fight against a feeling of ropes attached to your body and limbs pulling you back to the start.

that was until today. it was like i wasn't even trying. i just focused on relaxing, mostly my hands, arms, and face (particularly the eyes). in this state i hit everything at 21 seconds or better. faster than my first set of strides. faster than any other set of strides. and easier time at it.

that's what i like about jack's training plan. i can see results. i can look back over these past three weeks and see improvement. something that i haven't seen in any previous plan that i've tried. seeing this, feeling this, gives me a renewed sense of confidence. that boost that shouts at me 'you can do this . . . this and much more.'