Predawn need for speed

The display on my alarm clock read 3:31 AM this morning and speaker were buzzing with the most irritating noise. Why was it buzzing anyway? Dawn wasn’t even close to coming over the horizon, and my eyes lids were fighting all of my attempts to open.

Ah yes, the recollection of my promise to meet Megan at PDS for 800s at 5:20 AM. Maybe it is just a sign of getting older when I find it a struggle to remember why I want to be up so early. But a promise is a promise, and time was fast approaching to get ready and drive over.

Being a few minutes early is a good thing. I get one more chance to close my eye lids.

Enough said about missing out on sleep. LOL.

Megan asked how many warm-up miles that I needed. I said at least 2 miles. We ended up with 4 miles before starting a single set of 6 x 800 with a 200 recovery.

The first 800, I lead off but after 600 meters Megan passes me. She finishes in 2:47 and I finish in 2:50. My legs don’t seem motivated to run fast.

The second 800 we finish together in 2:47. It feels so much harder.

The third 800 I finish in 2:45 while Megan continues to hit 2:47s.

Coming around to start the 4th 800, there is an eerie silence as the light from the east grows ever brighter while darkness fades away leaving a morning fog to settle over the track. Burning the image into my mind, I wish my camera was handy.

The fourth and fifth 800s, I hit 2:43 and 2:42.

The sixth and final one, Megan jumps out first so I burn through the first 200 meters to catch her. My legs are spent by the last 300 meters. This pretty much explains why I run 2:45 again.

Overall, the workout was good. Regaining any level of turnover is going to take time. I am trying to be patient.

 

Sharing one thought at time,

The Cool Down Runner