Short Circuit

I’m always trying to reconcile the speedwork on my half marathon training schedule with that assigned at our track club’s Tuesday night workouts. Fortunately, they follow a similar pattern: intervals one week; tempo runs the next. And I don’t think Hal minds me moving it up a day so I can be surrounded by a couple hundred of my closest running friends.

Last night my group was to do 4 x 800 (2 laps around the track = 800 meters) with 25 sit-ups/pushups/jumping jacks in between. I recalled the other schedule recommending 6 x 800, so I compromised and while everyone was cooling down, I did another circuit. The entire evening felt surprisingly good, especially coming off a major home plumbing crisis and work day so brutal I not only got into the banana chips and Diet Coke but topped it off with a popcorn-soup-Twinkie lunch. And yet last night I wasn’t slowest in my lane, as usual. In fact, I gained on more than a few who normally pass me. Perhaps more things need to go wrong in my life prior to these sessions....

I rushed from track to a Grad Nite parent meeting, only to return home to some very sad news from a very good friend. [More on that later.] I also discovered I’d stunk of sweat and other unpleasant odors during the crowded, lengthy meeting at the high school lounge. Then I went to check off my track day on the calendar and saw I was only supposed to do 6 x 400. That made me smile through my tears. This day may have reeked, but for an hour last night I rocked.