Track Insanity

Sometimes winging it works for me, sometimes it blows up in my face. This FFX trip came up on me very quickly and I did no prep to figure out where I would train etc until I got here. I literally pulled up a google map yesterday and scanned the aerials to find the nearest track. I emailed the coaches and got clearance to run there after work knowing I needed to be back in time to catch the last shuttle to the metro, it would be tight even if everything was smooth sailing.

Well I didn't look really closely at that map and didn't realize I couldn't actually get to the track on foot as quickly as I thought. After a wrong path taken followed by realizing the road I needed to take was a highway I gave up and decided I would just run and do track the next day. Then I pulled up the map on the I phone again and thought maybe if I did the first 1200 on the road I could get there and get most of the workout in and still make it back with a few quarters on the road too. Ever the optimist! I started into the first 1200 with no official warm up knowing I just didn't have time. It was slow and hilly and in the middle of it I actually found a track and just went there as it was closer, I finished out the first 1200 on the track in the wind.

My stomach was a mess and the bathrooms were locked, I was looking at the watch and stressing about making it back as I started into the second interval and it just felt sluggish and was really slow, even slower than the road interval. Not good!

I calmed my mind and just committed to working hard the next 1200 and worrying about timing after that one. I had to work hard but I got close to the goal on this one. Last one I decided I could do on the track too as long as I headed straight back from there. I nailed that one finally and then headed back to the roads to finish out the quarters.

There was lots of traffic so I just focused on giving an 80-90 second effort and running really freaking hard :)

This was not my best workout and I clearly didn't nail the paces, but it was a good mental challenge and at the end of the day I put in the work and got most of it done albeit not with an ideal warm up and cool down.

Workout goals were:
4 x 1200 @ 4:18(86) with 2:30 recovery, 4 x 400 @ 82 with 90 sec recovery

I was around 4:30, 4:35, 4:19, 4:18 and then between 80 and 85 on the quarters.