A Little Glow
“Hello Oval.”
[Silence]
Not going to say hello Egg Girl? Don’t worry, I can read what’s between the lines: Lane 1, Lane 2, Lane 3…
My stomach hurts. I either am nervous or……hold on…..yep, still hurts. I am nervous. I shouldn’t be except for the fact that Rusty told me to be. Good listener that I am, I descend the bleachers toward the oval full of energetic worry. The workout is a challenging one for me: 3x 1600 5:40, 5:30, 5:20.
For the past 3 years, everytime I run a single “time trial” mile, I have landed between 5:14-5:20. My best mile repeat has turned out 5:31, 5:32, 5:33. I decide to not think about the last mile until I have to.
“Run the 5:40 Drea,” Rusty tells me, “If it isn’t working, I’m changing the workout.”
And then with that winning smile, “Good Luck.”
“Thanks,” I say punching my watch and leaning into the first 100 meters, “I think.”
Mile 1- A nice buttery 5:38. That result is not going to buy me a change of workout. I SLOWLY jog through my recover. T2 arrives at track volunteering to join my fun. Welcome friend!
T2 lines up with me and we slide into the second mile. I am certain he is present because I can hear him, but I would be lying if I did not say the calmness of my breathe did not empower me to punch the gas just a smidge. Hold on T2, here we go buddy.
Mile 2- Again it felt smooth: 5:24. Hard yes- I mean I did not desire to keep on running one more lap; however, the effort was neither wild nor spastic.
Now I am tingling in excitement. T2 what do you feel? T2? Ready pal?
We line back up. Rusty warns me that whatever I lead out in, I must stick. Then….
“Give me your watch Drea,” Rusty takes my purple Timex from my wrist, “It will be freeing. Run by feel and I’ll call your numbers.”
I appreciate the way my mind now runs mile repeats. I do not count laps, but rather focus on one individual lap at a time. First, one hard and controlled lap.
“78!”
Next, one more hard lap that will take me to the half way point. Lap two is my least favorite lap.
“2:37!”
The third lap is a known trap. I actively fight the devilish slow down. This impending drag weighs on my mind the entire lap. I repetitively tell myself, “Don’t slow down.” Pushing harder into lap three than lap two, I promise myself just one more lap.
“3:58!”
The fourth lap is ruled by the mind because the body is now upset. Yet, this is an easy mental game because discomfort now has a finish line…..Right…..There….Done.
“5:18!”
Hold on. I need to SUCK the sweet, sweet oxygenated runner’s high. I got my glow. T2 did you get a glow? T2? T2? Two things in this world give you this kind of glow: 1. A really good hard and successful workout or race AND 2. A really good hard and successful….um, hand shake. Love those hand shakes. Good stuff. Alright, two good workouts means a little more than one good workout, but I will hold it at that because I never really know what Halo is up to until she drops the race numbers. I have also learned that lesson.
Thanks Running for another flirty morning. It’s like you brought me flowers! I won’t hold my breathe on dinner and wine.
20 Responses to “A Little Glow”
Leave a Reply
Absolutely great last mile! I am always faster on the 1st or 2nd, so being fastest on the last is impressive!
I’m working my way towards 3×1600 but with not quite as ambitious time goals. For me, lap 3 sucks a–. One and two, no problem…three seems endless and four has the second wind!
I think the general torture of lap 3 is why I like it better than lap 2
. Come on Nitmos- you can throw down 3 x 5:38 miles!
Question from the front row. What kind of recovery time do you do between the 1600′s?
Depends. For this one 4 min. I have done 2.5 min and 90 seconds before. Cutting recovery changes Yhe workout
Nitmos,…I do these regularly as a pacing session, and keep the recoveries to a one lap jog around the track.
I also like to torture myself. Once I reach another plateau in the session, I’ll tell myself that every 4th lap I have to kick it in by 2-3 secs (for the lap). Keeps me honest, so I don’t get lazy…..who would have thought, huh?
(I also do six each session. Excellent 5k pace work….)
Fair enough Danny, and you can definitely run mile repeats with a jog lap recovery, but that ends up being a lot of recovery. Recovery should be very slow and very measured- or if not- than just a different workout. Another way to “keep you honest” is to run your mile repeats in “sets”. So for instance, let’s say you intend to run each mile repeat at 5:30. And you want exactly 2:30 in recovery. You can run each set in 8 minutes. This way, if you strike a 5:35, you get only 2:25 in recovery. If you strike a 5:25, you get 2:35 in recovery. That will definitely put honesty in your pants
By the way, nice to hear from you again Danny!
And for the sake of complete transparency, the one lap jog is suppose to be consistent every time usually within a few seconds of 2:15. I like the idea of tying the recovery to the rep – anything that’ll keep me closer to that dangerous red-line on the dashboard tachometer!
I hate talking training, because what have I done lately? But for all of the masochists out there, I think its worth a smile to tell how mile repeats were explained to me: “It is a 5k pacing workout, meant to simulate the pain of finishing a hard 10k (if carried out for six reps)”
See you on the track!
Ugh- Danny, that makes for a damn hard ass workout!!! Poof! I prefer to putter at snails pace wheezing oxygen in my recovery. Poof! Nice!
Great info Danny and Drea (great name for a folk group ala Captain and Tenille, btw). Thanks a bunch!
I’m an aerobic monster with little footspeed, kinda like shrek.
I practice the guitar, but i’ll be running in the olympics before I start a folk band!
Yay for you!!! So happy to read about the beat-down you gave that track!! That wasn’t kool aid – the track was bleeeeding!!! Lol:))))
Damn girl I love you- track was bleeding!!!! That’s a good one, unless the Oval Goddess was just on the rag. Then it’s just gross and let’s stick with Koolaide.
I understood all of this post.
Lets keep it clean though, I thought this was a G-Rated blog. You almost took a turn for the PG-13 / R rating there towards the end.
And what is my nickname d~^*it…?!?!
Oh Ted this is most definitely not a PG blog. You would t want the nickname Tight would you?
Ok I have got the blog rating now. I know what I may be in for in future postings.
Definitely not the right nickname. Something will come up.
Yes, something will come up….. sigh. I need an S.O.S over here!!! MAYDAY! MAYDAY! Shit, that was yesterday.
Glad you let it “GLOW” on the breakfast oval
!!!
you look fab in Easter Egg colors
XOXO
Yeah- it was a bit pastel. But when I sat on the wet oval with my white shorts they turned kind of red/orange on the ass. Sigh. Like I was sipping the track koolaide….