Speed

No, I'm not talking about eight balls and movies with buses in them. I'm speaking of the ''move one foot in front of another, while your heart's beating out of your chest, bleeding from the lungs, sweat and spit spilling out of your body while trying to hit a time' kinda' speed. The same kind of speed that seems to have left me in the dust. Now I'm fully aware that speed is a relative term, and that relative to some, I am fast. But, I am also all to aware that relative to some, I am sssssllllllloooooowwwwww (this is especially apparent over short distances). And to 'keep it real', I am actually only comparing myself to......
myself. If I were somehow magically able to race a 13 year old me in a 400, 800 or even 1500 m, I would get my ass kick by mini me.
This realization came about tonight during my first date with the oval for 2010.
The workout was short - too short. This meant one thing, it was to be FAST. On paper it was laughable to this IM athlete. I'm used to doing lots, and lots and lots of repeats, at a slower pace. I've been working on the deisel engine.
With a new goal on the horizon (marathon!) I need to work on getting faster in the shorter races (tee hee).
I did my warm up run to the track - 20 min..... found a bush for a last minute pee, did a couple of pick ups and was ready.... more than ready, I was excited!! I have always felt at home on the track. I was running on an oval long before I had a true appreciation for how much pain it can inflict. Nothing beats a good workout on the track.
The workout was simple: 2 x 400, 1 x 800, 1 x 1600, 1 x 800, 2 x 400.
The first 400s and 800 were to be at a decent clip, but the slowest getting quicker with each repeat. The 1600 was too be close to all out, realizing that I would have to go quicker yet for the next 800 and 400s.
No shocker, I went out too quick. I find running on a track much easier than a treadmill and since all of my speed sessions have been on a treadmill judging speed by my effort was a mistake..... 1:28. Next one went slower. The 800 was comfortable at 3:03. But the 1600 was where the money was at! I dropped it like it was hot, for the first three laps. I hit the third lap in 4:24. Not super but I was stoked. Then, a terrible pain in my chest! Was I having a heart attack? Quick assessment: no pain in my arm, not light headed... guess not. Kept running. Felt like I was running soooo fast! Just 100 left - I swear I could hear chariots of fire. Hit the line in 5:56... dang! I definately thought I would be faster than that! In grade 9 I ran the 1500 in 5:20, 800 in 2:26, the 400 in 60 seconds... today, the fastest 400 I could muster was a 1:22. Lots of work to do..... and I can't wait until next time!