With the track.
I hate the track.
I cursed at it. I spit on it. I gave it the finger and walked away.
We all have shit workouts. Workouts where you body is fighting you. Your mind is thinking about a millions way not to do the workout and to justify not doing it. Your subconscious questions your training and fitness. It sucks. But it happens. And it passes. It is just one workout. I repeat: It is just one workout.
Last Tuesday was a bad day on the track. I walked on already thinking about walking off. But I tried to give it a chance. The workout was suppose to be 3x2 miles at my tempo pace. On paper, it was not uber hard, but it was going to be work. In reality on Tuesday, it was about an 11 on a scale of 1-10.
I started the first set and within the first 400 meters I knew it was not going to go well. My heart was high and the pace was slow. My legs were fighting. They wanted to go one pace while the rest of my body wanted to go another. There was a serious conflict between legs, heart, and mind. I kept telling myself the 1st set is always the hardest. Once I got into a rhythm it would be ok. WRONG. It was not going to be ok today. At 800 meters I called an audible and changed the workout to 5x1 mile. I finished my 1st mile. Looked the time. Looked at my heart rate. Looked at the gate that exited the track. But I stayed on. Let's try one more mile.
Mile 2 was no better then the first. All I could think about is the 3 more miles that were going to suck after this one. I finished the 2nd mile and immediately made a phone call to my coach. I told him what was happening. He said it was going to be fine. He changed my workout to just an easy run. To get my head on straight and not to think to much into the workout. Easy for him to say. I would try it again next week.
Fast forward to this Tuesday. Repeat of the 5x1 miles. But this time it was at Harper Lake rather then the track. Jeff thought that doing the workout at Harper Lake would be less stress then the track. He knows me well. I get nervous going to the track. Doing the miles in a more "natural" setting is easy to deal with then 4 times around a track. Don't ask me why...it's just me. The Garmin was ready to go. My intention was genuine. I was just hoping my legs would agree with me today.
The first mile goes by and I am feeling 100% better then last week. My heart rate is the same, if not slightly lower, but my pace is now 20-25 sec faster then last week. The correlation between heart rate and pace makes sense today. Mile 2-5 went by quickly as well (having a 2 min recovery helped that)-each one faster then the previous. At the end of the 5th one, I forgot about last week. I have redeemed myself in my own eyes.
During my cool down I reflected on the 2 workouts. Each very different. Each teaching me something different. Each day is unique. No two days are ever the same. There are many variables that effect the body and training. One day does not dictate how fit or fast you are. It is a culmination of many good days and bad days that shape you as an athletes. It is your ability to rebound and put things behind you that allows you to grow-as a person and athlete. Bad days are good-they teach you many things-which makes the good days better.
Tomorrow is another day, and there will be another battle
-Sebastian Coe after he finished 2nd in the 800m in the 1980 Moscow Olympics
Rock On
JK
1 comments:
Good post. Glad to hear you bagged it when your body told you to. I was reading and wondering if you were going gut through it (and then be worked over for the next three days, possibly sick and not happy with the result). Good call (both the phone call and the decision not to continue the workout)
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