Freak heat wave continues. 70F at 5 AM. (Yuck.) Windy & overcast. VO2 interval workout. 3 x 1600m w/ 4 min. recovery. Target pace = ha ha ha (aka 7:55) Splits: 8:23, 8:11, 8:21. 15 minutes core & upper body strength.
Unless I can find someone who wants to go to the track with me very early (perhaps someone from my club), my track days might be over for the 8-month dark season. I had every intention of going today, but after a night of anxiety and very bad dreams, I changed my mind this morning. I did it once in utter darkness 2 weeks ago, but perhaps the memory of what that was like hindered more than it helped. The track itself is ok with my headlamp and the bit of streetlight. The problem is: bathrooms. I always seem to need one about 15 minutes into my warmup.
I can either go to the super creepy, bush-surrounded park bathroom a half block away (where neither the outer door nor the stall door locks), or I can jog the half mile down to Centennial Park where the bathrooms are quite nice but surrounded by desolate woods and fields and the nearest inhabitants are the charming trailer park residents a quarter mile away. Not using a bathroom is, unfortunately, not one of my choices.
It's a long explanation, but it's best to get it out of the way so I can stop thinking about it. I hate speed work but I also love it: knowing what it is doing for me is enough to make it a friend. Now I just have to hope that Sean and Bonnie and all my other track heroes will forgive me. ;)
So, where did I do my 1600s? Well, I thought about going around the Ridge-Kinsey loop (about a mile) where I've been doing my tempo workouts. Then I remembered Crestview Loop, a small, circular development in a remote part of my neighborhood. During my warmup I measured the loop at .4 of a mile. It is almost flat, certainly flatter than the tempo run loop. There are no stoplights or intersections, and during my entire workout I only encountered one car, easily avoided. So that's my new "track" until the world gets lighter next spring -- unless of course I can find a track buddy. "Hey! Who's up for driving down the hill at 4:50 AM? It'll be fun!"
Now, about my workout. First rep: didn't quite feel warmed up, despite doing some strides at the end of my jog warm-up. Second rep: started to feel more powerful, form felt good, split reflects better running. Third rep: falling apart now but holding on. Still better than rep #1. Legs feeling as miserable as the lungs - that's a first! Overall performance... A for effort, P for pathetic pace, T for "taper is coming - it's going to be ok."
SnoFlake isn't feeling well so I sent her back to bed instead of running. I am sure she'll be fit to come out again soon. It's just as well she didn't have to run in this miserable heat. | 