10 x 600

After the relay and then the 10 miler, my running seems to have fallen into a "funk". There's been no motivation to run hard and barely enough motivation to go the door for an easy run.

Yesterday, my plans were to do little more than go out my front door and do more easy miles in the warm sunshine.

Then, this txt arrived from Megan asking if I was interested in doing 10 x 400 with a 400 recovery. Sure, why not. Might as well. I needed something to get me moving again.

This morning we headed out but instead of making the uphill trek to PDS, we headed for the loop around the lake at McAlpine Park. Although, neither of us said anything about it, I imagine neither of us wanted to make the 2 mile uphill climb to the track.

600 is still longer than 400 but then the 600 recovery is longer than the 400 recovery so yes, there is balance in life.

Our 10 x 600 start. If you are familiar with the lake at Mc Alpine in the morning, you already know. Half of the loop is in the direct sun light and half is in the shade.

We cross the bridge and head into the shade. My legs don't want to run much less run fast.

But the coolness of the shade inspires me to push at least a little. I make the turn and hit the open sun shine again. Think opening a hot oven. The blast of heat sets in.

I finish the first loop just ahead of Megan.

Oh, by the way on the first loop, this woman has her dog out i.e. off his leash of course and as we run by he starts growling at us. She makes a comment to the effect "He will not bite". But as we run by he starts chasing us. I have to turn around and give him the "Cool Down Runner don't mess with me stare". The owner finally comes up, puts the lease on her dog, and leads him away. Never once, did she say "sorry". I got feeling she thought it was our fault. I guess we will have to just agree to disagree on that one.

So the first loop is in the books. Albeit, it was slower than expected due to doggie concerns.

10 is a good round number for me. I have 10 fingers so keeping track of 10 hard loops is fairly easy for me. However, Megan counts every lap. I understand her method, but counting to 20 somehow makes the workout seem so much longer. But I don't argue the point. I learned a long time ago, arguing with women is a losing proposition. Pick your battles.

So loops 2 – 9 go smoothly, but I am starting to feel the fatigue in my legs. The tiny bit of pop that was there during the first couple of intervals is now gone.

We come around for the last loop and the baby ducks are all at the bridge. There is no truth to this story, but I want to believe they are there to watch us start the last loop and see us finish it.

Sure enough, we come around to finish up the last loop and they are lined up alongside the bridge.

My splits for the 10 loops were not impressive, but then considering I was planning an easy run, they are much better than expected.

Sometimes, the toughest part of running is not pushing through the physical pain, but striving to overcome the 6 inches of doubt that lingers between my ears.

 

Sharing one thought a time,

 

The Cool Down Runner