Boy getting up this morning was tough. I was not looking forward to this practice. All I kept thinking about was this past Sunday on the track. Those 24 laps. Those drop downs. The exhaustion and cramps afterwards. I know. I know. It was to simulate the end of the marathon. The time when you have to gut it out and get ‘er done. When you have to push, push more and push beyond. So I feared this morning and repeating those laps on the track with drop downs. Lap upon lap. In the dark. Missing those stupid holes. Around that loop again and again. I wondered if I had it in me. The self doubts were devils in my brain. But I’ve learned that if you’re told to do something you give it a try. I’ve also learned that Steve is a great coach. He builds you up so you can achieve what he’s asking. So I do it. I follow orders. I run the loops. I count the laps. It’s too dark to read my watch. I’ll do my best unknowing the time and check when I get home. I’ve got no group to help me, to run with me today. Kim offered to follow, but I didn’t want to be responsible for anyone else today. I was worried. I wanted to crawl into a hole. The running starts, the laps go by, the traffic gets bad. I keep going. I decide to run it straight. No breaks, no 400m recoveries, just 24 laps making each one faster. 4 done, 8 done, 12 and halfway, they blur one after the other, only 4 more, only 3/4 lap, finished. Get water, jog slowly back to the pool. At home I check the times. I can’t believe them. Was the Garmin off? They’re much faster than I expected considering my MGP is 9:10, HMGP is 8:42, 10K is 8:13, and 5K is 7:55. My results were mile 1: 8:22, mile 2: 8:24, mile 3: 8:00, mile 4: 7:58, mile 5: 7:42, and mile 6: 7:44. And I was supposed to start at MGP. And not go under my 5K pace. Oops. If I add up my times and include a tenth of a mile (48:10+0:74=49:24) it’s only 40 seconds over my 10K PR (48:44). What? Unbelievable! I lean back, smile and wonder what the future holds…
