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April 16, 2008
Tights Again!
I slept in until 6:30 this morning (day off work) and was VERY excited to get up to chirping birds and a big, blue, sunny sky! YIPPPEEE!! I raced to my computer, fired it up and got onto weather.com to see just how nice and warm it was going to be for my track workout. After a few clicks...
30 degrees.
Seriously. WHAT IS THAT?! Man. It just looked so warm! So it was tights again. And a hat. And gloves. And two long sleeves. When I got home from my workout I promptly threw my tights away. Really, I did! Right in the trash can. But actually that had more to do with the fact that they now have 2 large holes (instead of one) than the fact that I was fed up with having to wear them in April. :) These particular tights have lived a long and fruitful life. After some thought I came to the conclusion that yes, I really have been wearing them since high school (10+ years ago). They have seen many miles. Their holes have been sewn up by my mom already on more than one occasion. It was time to finally say goodbye. And I'm not buying new ones until next December. Hear that Mother Nature?! (oh no, I did not just tempt Mother Nature!)
Anyway, back to the actual workout. It was 3 miles of running hard on the straights and easy on the curves, followed up by a handful of hard 400s.
Now, if you come from a running background (such as yours truly) you may be thinking "what kind of fru-fru workout is this?" Running hard on the straights and jogging the curves? That's like a SPRINTERS workout!
In case you don't get the joke, distance runners often make fun of sprinters' workouts. The conversation might go something like this:
1st distance runner (to another distance runner, while everyone is warming up on the track): "Hmm...wonder what the sprinters are going to do today? Maybe 2x200? (snicker, snicker) Maybe run hard for 50 meters and jog the rest of the lap?"
2nd distance runner: "Nope, I heard they are doing 400s with 10 minutes rest in between!" (HAHAHAHAHA)
1st distance runner: "Oh Lord - 400s? They will be complaining and moaning all night how tired they are!"
2nd distance runner: "Remember the time they had to run the straights hard and jog the curves easy for like 3 laps and they all collapsed in exhaustion when they were done?"
1st distance runner: "Yeah, totally - and here we are running 6x1 mile with 1 minute rest...they really need to get tougher like us!"
Now, in the unlikely chance that there is a sprinter (or former sprinter) reading this, please don't take it personally. The real reason distance runners talk like this is because we are jealous. Very jealous. Jealous of the fact that you are fast and we are not and we have to run races that last 35+ minutes and you get much more glory for running races that last 10 seconds. Plus, what we often don't realize is that while your workout might really be 4x400 with 5 minutes rest, you are running those 400s in :55. This is something the we have a hard time understanding because, well, we couldn't run a :55 if our life depended on it.
Regardless, I've gotten so far off track I have forgotten what I was even talking about.
Oh yes, my 3 miles of hard on the straights and easy on the curves with some 400s afterwards. My point is, when I first encountered this workout last year I was skeptical. Come on, this can't even be that hard. But it is a hard workout. It's very hard and those 400s at the end? Killer.
The thing is, if you really do run HARD on the straights and don't totally dog it on the curves, you end up running some pretty fast miles. And the workout is continous, including the 400s, so you just keep going and going and going. Today my miles were 6:36, 6:27 and 6:25 which isn't too awful shabby given the fact that you are jogging easy for half of that time. Now obviously the goal isn't to run a certain time, but my point is, you end up moving pretty good. And the 400s at the end just hurt because now you are running much faster.
So that's the last time I pooh-pooh a workout BEFORE I do it. :)
But this morning I felt good and strong and was happy with the result. Even if I did have to wear tights.
Next up was breakfast and some odds and ends before I headed to the pool.
Once at the pool I was a little dismayed to learn that my legs had already decided that they did not want to participate in today's swim. Hmm... They apparently had had enough on the track this morning. So that left the work up to my arms. Now 1 year ago, that would have been disastrous. But slowly (VERY slowly) my arms are getting stronger and I'm able to swim better without kicking like a mad woman. So my swim was still A-okay this morning. Repeat 250s and 300s and I only lost count once.
The best news of the day is that it's currently in the 60s and sunny and absolutely beautiful. I was just running some errands and wore shorts and sandels and I was HOT! I can't remember the last time I was actually hot! (oh wait, just last night I sweat about 10 gallons of sweat all over my bike while I was partaking in my trainer workout... :) It's SOOO nice outside. And a quick check on weather.com shows that tomorrow it's supposed to get into the 70s. 70s I tell you!
Who needs tights anyway?
Posted by beth at April 16, 2008 3:42 PM
Comments
I had a pair of tights I threw away last year that I had had since 8th grade!! I mean why did I hold onto those horrible things so long?? :) But I loved them, and I have a shirt that no matter how much I wash it smells to high heaven, but it's a really special shirt to me and I STILL wear it! No wonder people won't hang out with me when I have it on! :)
So glad to hear your workout went well and you accomplished your goals! Go get 'em Beth!!
Posted by: kellye at April 16, 2008 8:57 PM
Those sprinter workouts are definitely tough. But, sometimes I think I'd rather do 300's and down instead of 800's and 1200's.
Now jumper speed workouts, not very impressive where I'm at. I guess we'll have to speak to the coach about that....oh wait, that's me. Oops!
Posted by: O at April 16, 2008 9:04 PM
Bwah, wah, hah on the sprinter jokes. Little did you know I began my running career as a 400m runner in high school! I'm so offended!. No, not offended, just jealous because my speed workouts last for like 90 minutes now. ;)
Why do we all have running clothes that are like 3 million years old? This winter, I trashed a circa-1994 pair of Nike tights that I had to safety pin at the waist to hold them up since the elastic stopped elasticising. On long downhills on the trails, the things would just creep their way down my torso, lower, and lower, and... Sigh. ;)
Meghan
PS. Nice track workout!
Posted by: Meghan at April 16, 2008 9:50 PM
Nice job on the track-those are great mile times considering you were jogging on the curves. I have a one mile TT on the track on Friday-Scary!! hopefully I wont be in tights, but you never know here in MN.
Posted by: Cy at April 16, 2008 10:25 PM
Ha ha! Had to laugh at the runner dialogue - it is SO true. Good for you for throwing out the tights... gulp. I'm pretty sure you'll be okay. :)
Ah - the lap counting while swimming. Yes. Very tricky... Happens to me all the time. All. The. Time. You are NOT alone, my friend!
Have a great warm day!!!
Posted by: marit c-l at April 17, 2008 7:53 AM