Disastrous Speed Work. Almost.

So, I wandered up to the local high school track to run some 1/4 mile repeats Wednesday night. I didn't really have a plan in place when I left. It's about a 1.25 mile jog to the track so, on the way, I formulated my plan of attack. I decided to go 1/4 mile hard (one lap), 1/4 easy, 1/4 hard, 1/4 easy. Rest. Repeat.

Sounded good.

Except it was 88 degrees and incredibly muggy. The air was thick and hot.

I figured a couple of miles of hard work would be doable though, right?

I managed to complete both miles worth of repeats but only at a total average 6:30/mile clip. I was hoping for closer to 6:10/mile. At the end of the second mile, I had to suppress the growing urge to puke all over the track. I haven't done any speed work in awhile and on that hot track, that day, it was not a good idea. A couple of deep breaths kept my afternoon snack from creeping up my esophagus. I made my light jog home and peeled the sweat saturated clothing off me.

Next time, I'll be more selective on my speed work days.

I did come to the realization that I have become too content with my training pace and need to push a bit harder periodically if I don't want to plateau. Despite the heat, the repeats were harder than it should have been.

Upcoming Events:

There are two races I'm eyeballing before the big 2007 Chicago Marathon. Both are 10 milers. I would love to do the Crim in Flint, MI on August 25th but I may be out of town that day. If not, count me in.

I may soon sign up for The Legend at Sleepy Hollow Park on August 11th. It's a 10 mile trail race with some hills and other natural obstacles. I'm thinking I may take a stab at the 50k Dances with Dirt adventure race next September so this might be a good introduction to this style of running (at 1/3 the distance and probably 1/3 the intensity).

Streak Ends:

I did not run the Traverse City Cherry Festival race this year breaking my streak of seven years that started with my first official race in 2000. My heart just wasn't in it and I had a 'been there, done that' attitude to the whole thing. Plus, while it's a scenically nice race, I don't think it is particularly well organized when compared to the Bayshore Marathon run in the same city but by different organizers. I'm sure our paths will cross again though.

Happy trails.