Back on Track!

Good ol Launches for warm up and cool down

I'm one of those runners that never misses a track workout. I'll run in the rain, heat, freezing weather, anything. Even the ice. I'll walk the track to find the ice spots so I can avoid them. (thank you John!)  Even when I'm sick I will go out of my way to use a track that has bushes near by so I can puke if I need to. I have been doing this for a few years. HOWEVER, this winter I heard my friend who is a great runner say the magic words I have been wanting to hear, "I haven't done track in forever." You know who you are ; )

YES!! So that means I don't need track either, right?! So for the last month I started doing my track workouts on the road. I mean they were mile repeats...but then that turned into no track at all for a couple weeks. Not a great idea. I like track. So today I was going to go run long at whatever pace I wanted until my friend Eric (also a track and cc coach) said uh, NO. Do this tomorrow:

5 (4x200) Starting at 37 seconds and getting to 35. He had the recoveries staggered around 45 seconds.

I haven't done 200's in um, almost forever. Never that many. Usually some after my 400's. So I read this as:

do a (shitload of 200's)

So I went to freakin Buffaloe track by my house. A public asphalt track. HATE asphalt but I wanted to git 'er done. However, it was closed and raining. I checked the weather on my blackberry and figured out I could haul ass across town to Martin Middle School and beat the rain and get a rubberized track. So I did, yeah!

No one was there. It was 7:30am I think. Thank god because 200's look freaky to me. You have no choice but to be the bitch that runs people out of lane one. Unless there are other 200's out there. But usually not. It is 4:30 pace....

So I did a 2 mile warm up and then started. They all were coming in at 36-37 seconds. It was weird stopping so much. I'm used to LONG ass repeats. So I was fine until about #13. I hit 38 seconds. SHIT. Then the wind picked up and I was back to 37 and a few disgruntled 38's. Around repeat #15 I was trying to think of excuses to stop.

*I could say those little kids came out with their soccer balls
*I could just do 15. That sounds respectable?
* DOG, I could say I saw a dog and it chased me up the bleachers!

15 turned into 18 and then 20 and DONE! What a great feeling. I did a 3 mile cool down to make for 10 miles. My splits were:

36, 37, 36, 37, 37, 37, 37, 37, 37, 37, 37, 37, 38, 37, 38, 37, 38, 37, 37, 37 (I have garmin issues. They are all separate activities. I need zero on the clock)

So much for staggering the times. And my recovery was 15 steps out and back. I took a split on that and got 38 seconds. So more less around there. 2 times I hit lap instead of stop and it pissed the hell out of me. I like nice neat stuff.

Well, a good day. It's done. I don't think I'll mind my easy run tomorrow!

Later taters!
xoxo