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November 4, 2007
ain't talkin bout love
M: 8mi (9:25)
T: AM 11mi incl 6x600 (2:13 avg), PM 3mi (9:17)
W: AM 8mi (9:24), PM 3mi (8:44)
R: 12mi (8:13) incl 2x1.5mi (6:57, 6:56 pace) last 4mi
F: AM 9.12mi (9:10), PM 3mi (9:25) under the influence of diet soda; do not try this unless you are racing against me
Sa: 6.5mi (9:05), 61F, ahhh
Su: 18.5mi (7:19) incl 6x.5mi bridge repeats w/ very fast running-club person
total: 82.1 miles
This has been a pretty interesting week. I did a lot of thinking in addition to the self-flagellation after the half, and came to the conclusion that I race poorly because I avoid pain like, well, pain. I came to this conclusion right about the same time as this blogging runner, and since she wrote much more eloquently about it I'll just point you in that direction.
So I made a point of trying to run workouts hard enough to hurt, and I did, and they did, as you can probably see from the paces of the non-workout runs. I ran Tuesday's "600s" all on the road, and they weren't all quite 600m, but the times averaged 2:13/600m, which is on the fast side for me. The midweek 12 was supposed to include something hard the last 4 miles, but I wasn't sure what. By Thursday morning I was tired. My ambitious 4@6:30 became 4@6:45, then howbout 2x2@6:45, no, 2x2@7...In the end I just managed 2x1.5 just under 7min pace, but it hurt, so I guess that made it ok.
This morning's 18+ was kinda neat, especially because it could have been really awful. Earlier this week a really fast woman from my running club asked if I wanted to join her for a long run with hill repeats. In this part of Florida we don't have real hills, so we run on bridges, and the bridge she was talking about was a smaller bridge on the approach to that bridge, the really big bridge my friend jumped off of. Since last July I have not been anywhere near that bridge, will not drive on it, have had inexplicable trouble even looking at pictures of it. On the other hand, I knew it would be good to run with a really fast person, and hills could only help. On the other other hand, I don't know this woman very well, and I just didn't want to drop a 9billion pound bomb on the whole thing. So I decided 1) to meet her there, and 2) not to say anything about anything. This morning I woke up to beautiful cool weather and drove out there actually feeling pretty optimistic, and then somehow I got lost. I got off the highway too soon, then got back on only to realize I'd passed the last exit before the bridge. And it was pitchblack dark and the bridge was all lit up, and I thought I was going to have to drive all the way over it and then turn around and drive back, and I said (aloud, to no one) "it just can't get any worse than this." Thanks god there was a tollbooth, and thanks god the woman there told me how I could turn around without having to drive all the way to Bradenton, and I was so grateful that I just thrust the dollar toll at her and took off, found the turnaround, and made it to the meeting-place on time, like nothing had happened. And it turned out to be a really great run - 18.5 miles with 6 half-mile hill repeats, all (well, most of it) done while chatting at paces I never dreamed I could chat at. And yeah, we saw the big bridge quite a few times. We also saw some mini coopers, some fishermen, and a whale.
Posted by joe positive at November 4, 2007 4:05 PM
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Comments
yet another uplifting post, avec suspense, no less.
To follow up on the cuisine metaphor, onto dining experience, this post made me think of the amiable atmosphere of a nutritious tete-a-tete...
Posted by: corrado giambalvo at November 5, 2007 12:23 PM
I am so proud of you! I know that had to be so hard, especially at first. I'm curious how you felt as you became reacquainted with the bridge. How about today?
I ran a race yesterday and I thought about our pain conversation and I kept telling myself to not be afraid! But, it didn't help all that much and I realized the pain I was experiencing was the pain caused by racing too soon after a marathon. Oops! But tomorrow I have my first track workout in months and I'm running it with my own super fast teammate in 35 degree windy/snowy nasty weather. I wanted to embrace the pain, now I have my chance. I wonder if the physical pain will be worse than the pain of embarrassment of my hobbling slowness :)
Posted by: Salty at November 5, 2007 4:49 PM
I have a feeling you will remember this run for the rest of your life. I'm so glad it was a great one.
Posted by: Mindi at November 6, 2007 1:08 PM