Sluggin' Through

I am feeling sluggish and a little nauseous this morning. Yesterday, I did a light upper-body weithtlifting workout for the day after my first 20 mile run. But I still had to wake up early, and then there is tha whole “work” thing I have to do Monday – Friday from 8am – 5 pm. The temperature is still in the low teens (but no wind). I was thinking of running my speed workout at the indoor high-school for the the third week in arrow, but today my wife starts a new job, so I want to be supportive and be around to help get the kids up in the morning. Plus, today’s workout is 1600 meter intervals, which means I would have to run 8 laps without stopping at a 6:41 pace. The streets are dry for a change, and it’s not as cold as it was on Sunday morning, so I decide to run the mile loop that is formed by my street and the one next us.
I am still pretty bundled up, and feel okay by my two-thirds mile warmup. My legs are a little chilled, I have 1 pair of my thickest tights. I have my Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS programmed for three 1600 meter intervals at a 6:41 pace, with 1 minute rest intervals. (This was the first speed workout 1 month ago, so we’ll see if I can do better this time.) A dedicated distance runner around the corner from my house measured out this course with a measuring wheel, marking out 200 meter intervals. As I pass one of them near my house, I start the interval program. After a couple hundred meters, I hear the pace alert telling me I am going faster than the 6:41 goal. Good, but I don’t want to be way under this early on my first interval. I drop back a notch. I was wearing a neoprene mask for my warmup, and I pull it down, so I can easily get more air. But around the half-mile mark, I feel burning in my mouth and throat as I breathe the frigid air. I have heard about needing to warm the air you breathe when it is this cold, but In have not had problems before. I pull up the thin, tight spandex balaclava I have over my head and neck, so the breaths in and out of mouth are warmed. Then I see someone in front of me by about 200 m. It must be Jim, another serious runner in the neighborhood. Not a marathoner, but day-in/day-out he puts in the miles, and a faster pace than me. He must be running a cooldown, because I actually am gaining him. Just as I reach my finish, I call out to him from about 5-10 feet back. It startles him in the dark, we exchange greeting – I grab Gatorade I have perched on a garbage can in my driveway- he picks his pace back up to stay warm, and head home. 6;54 for this first lap. 13 seconds per mile over!
My next 2 intervals are over 7 minutes per mile. My slowest (7:15) is only 5 seconds faster than a 7:20 mile I ran during my 20 mile run 2 days ago. I am so disappointed that I totally skip my cooldown, and go right back in the house (plus I have to go to the bathroom really bad).

Okay, I am disappointed with these mile intervals, especially today’s. But I’m not so disappointed that I am going to send back my Boston-Qualifying ticket. I ran 20 miles, 20-30 seconds faster than my pace on a bitterly cold day two days ago. Plus, my nutrition the day before and following the run was dubious, my sleep has been shot; work is extremely stressful; there are some home and financial issues we have to deal with. I know a half-dozen people personally who have lost their jobs. Some of that stress, I take on, too. BUT – I am lucky I’m not one of them. Plus, I am healthy now, and my other runs have been pretty stellar, so I can improve on this speedwork. I have learned that much from my previous training programs – you take them as a whole, as a process, not each run as a pass/fail.