How Much Discomfort Can I Tolerate?!

Ran 4 easy miles total. Started with 2 warm-up miles, then ran about 800 meters at threshold pace to get my lungs loosened up (I can be prone to asthma). Unfortunately by 800 meters end I was breathing heavy, and it took about 5 minutes for it calm down, so the asthma was there. Instead of being disappointed, I actually like it when the asthma hits, because I am basically required to work at about 75% of my normal lung capacity. It is like altitude training without the mountains. So, I stretched a bit, and then decided to run 6 X 150 meter strides, 2 easy, 2 medium, and 2 hard. I ran it on the 7th fairway at the Urbana Country club - nice soft surface, no bumps. I ran the strides pretty good, I was surprised that my lungs recovered and did not give me too much of a problem. Rest period between strides was about 60 seconds. After the last hard 150 I kept running, and did 2 more easy miles to round out the session. I then stretched and did my normal strength exercises - dips, push-ups, pull-ups, calf raises. Then walked 40 minutes home.

A bit cold early, around 27 degrees. Decided to wait until the afternoon to run. Lucky choice, because when I revved up into the streets heading to Busey Woods plugged into my iPod listening to The Crystal Method the sun was warm, around 55 degrees. When I hit the 2 mile mark about 800 meters from the woods I hit the accelerator on the uphill next to the pool and I was feeling it - I knew this was going to be one of those workouts when I am pushing pushing pushing. I ran hard about 1200 meters to the rest point at the end of the woods boardwalk, slowed down to about 8 minutes per mile for 400 meters, then picked it up to about 6:30 per mile for 800 meters, and went like this for 3 miles, 800 on, 400 off, looping around the woods, under a canopy of autumn yellow foliage, sweat on my brow, breathing like a locomotive.  A few places in the run I went down to about 6 minutes per mile, which is about as fast as I can go. I was hurting at this pace, which is exactly what I wanted. Hell of a run, wish I could do this all the time. Afterwards stretched, did 4 sets of pull-ups, push-ups, crunches, dips, calf raises. Walked 40 minutes home. Tomorrow a moderate 7 miler in  Busey Woods.