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November 2, 2006
Nothing Says "I Love You" Like...
...meeting your spouse at 7 pm at the track on a cold and windy night after a long and tiring day to do mile repeats. No nothing. That's why O is my True Companion (one of my all time favorite songs).
But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. First things first - I got up early and went to work from 6A to 2P. Drove over to the shop to cover for about an hour (scheduling difficulties today - someone needed to work from 3-4P and that someone was me). Back to campus for class and an exam that I didn't study enough for. Luckily what I did study was mostly the right stuff and I probably did just fine. It would be an understatement to say I'm looking forward to this semester being over.
With my exam done I was feeling relieved and almost looking forward to the mile repeats I had yet to do. I had to stop and get gas on my drive home from Pitt (as I was dangerously close to an empty tank) and all hell broke loose at the gas station. I was seriously there for about 20 minutes waiting in line, pumping my gas, trying to get out of the lot. It was ugly. What was even uglier was when I got out of the car and the coldest wind I've felt in some time chilled me to the bone. All of a sudden I wasn't looking forward to those mile repeats anymore.
Home, fed the dog, looked at the weather. 34 degrees w/a windchill of 26. It was cold, it was dark, I was hungry, I was tired, and there were about 25 other reasons I came up with as to why taking the day off would have been a better idea than intervals.
Nonetheless I put on my tights and short sleeve and long sleeve and jacket and hat and gloves. I patted Roxy on the head and gave her a bone. And I headed out the door at 7 pm to do my workout.
Meanwhile, O, who had had an equally long and tiring day, was waiting at the track. He had just finished tutoring someone (way at the other end of Pittsburgh) and was driving straight to the track to meet me for the workout. Why in the world he would do that I'm not so sure. What I am sure of though is the fact that if the tables were turned, I would have probably been at home on the couch under a big blanket with hot cocoa! :) What I'm also sure of is the fact that nothing important in life can be accomplished without the love and support of others in your life. It's just too hard. And I won't ever believe that someone becomes successful by themselves. There are always a lot of unselfish people behind the scenes that get them there.
20 minutes warmup
3x1600 @ 10K pace + 10 seconds w/200 jog recoveries (so called cruise intervals)
20 minutes cooldown (about 8 miles total)
As always I struggled with the "what is my 10K pace" question but at some point decided that as based on a 10K time of 39 minutes (6:16 pace) I should aim for 6:25-6:30 pace. Then I felt the wicked wind of the west on the homestretch and I told O that 6:35 pace may be okay too.
We started the first one and went through the 400 in :90 and I felt just fine. I knew I didn't want to do the whole workout at 6 minute pace (because I have never run a 10K at 6 min pace let alone 5:50 pace) so I tried to slow down and settle in. We finished the 1st one in 6:20 and I decided that would be fine to continue with. Next two were 6:17 and 6:18. I felt good and comfortable and under control. Our rests were about 1:10-1:15. All in all a good workout, even with that evil wind and the cold. Because it was sort of continuous it went by pretty quickly. Not so bad afterall! :)
And that was our evening. Now it's time for some serious shut-eye. Happy "almost" weekend! :)
Posted by beth at November 2, 2006 9:52 PM
Comments
You and O sound like a great match for each other
Posted by: Kranky C Dale at November 3, 2006 10:47 AM
"And I won't ever believe that someone becomes successful by themselves. There are always a lot of unselfish people behind the scenes that get them there. "
That's not fair of you at all! Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a spouse, friends and/or family (this includes parents, cousins, etc. My entire family is dead - everyone). Some of us have to do EVERYTHING alone. Are you saying WE'RE doomed to be failures? That's mean.
Posted by: Frank at November 3, 2006 1:29 PM
Oh dear - didn't mean to offend anyone - but there has to be SOMEONE in everyone's life - a co-worker, a teammate, an old high school buddy, the other people at the gym where you train... we don't live in this world by ourselves. Just how I feel.
Posted by: Beth at November 3, 2006 1:54 PM