44F; steady rain. VO2 max workout - w.u., 4 x half mile @ 5K effort*, c.d. *see second paragraph, below So, there I am warming up: wet, sniffly, somewhat breathless (psychosomatic I think), with a cycling jacket to keep some of the water and self-pity out, soaking feet... And I'm running along thinking, "this is a bad day for a speed workout." Yesterday or even Monday would have been better. I mentally curse the inaccuracy of "Five Day Weather" outlooks. I spend my entire warm up talking myself out of blowing off the planned workout. In the end, I went with the ol' standby of Something is Better than Nothing. My results for the 4 reps were: whine, sigh, struggle, and hang-in-there. Oh. You wanted actual pace splits? Ok. 9:22, 8:49, 8:25, 8:20. Goal was 7:50-8:00, but at least I got faster as I went along. Best not to dwell on it. Instead, how about we amuse ourselves over... My Very Own Special Brand of OCD. I have a very specific, benign little OCD thing regarding sidewalks. I have had this sidewalk thing since I was a small child. It may have come from the "step on a crack, break your mother's back" rhyme. (What kind of monster teaches that kind of crap to little children?) From the time I started walking to school (1st or 2nd grade), I have had this compulsion to make the cracks "even" between my two feet: one steps on a crack, the other had to as well. Now that I'm an adult, and presumably more logical and mature, it only bothers me when I step on one of those bulging sidewalk separations. I always want to find one for the other foot. Real mature, I know. I think this may be one of the reasons I like running in the street so much. ("Yes, Officer. But you see, there were so many cracks on the sidewalk...") It's great when I remember to just hold up my head and not pay attention to the ground. Only, that can lead to tripping over things you know. Into this tiny quirk in my otherwise sane existence, add: worms. I don't know if it's because of Spring, or what, but with the rain falling steadily, the sidewalks are totally covered with worms today. Oy. Maybe we should just not discuss this anymore... We're halfway through the week, folks! :D | 