Heartbreak and the 205's

Wednesday, September 26th

6:00 PM - Hill Workout
18 min warmup from the hill to the BC Res
Drills at the Res
16 min back to the hill
8 x Heartbreak to the top (~600 yds), jog down rest
1:50, 1:52, 1:51, 1:50, 1:49, 1:49, 1:47, 1:44 (Avg = 1:49)
17 min cooldown
Total = 12 Miles, 85 min

So since I missed practice yesterday, I did the workout today by myself. I went to the usual place at the usual time to try to keep things familiar. I felt like junk on the first warmup and just pushed myself through the drills while I was sweating profusely with the humidity being what it was. Heading back over to the hill was a little better but I still felt slow and was thinking that the workout would be a struggle. I just wanted to put in the same effort that I did last week with Mario and Ryan and hopefully be close to the times we ran before. So I put on some flats for the first time this season ...I used my old 205's which are pretty much shot right now after a year of workouts and races, but I still love them and it felt great to get back in them again. I was pleasantly surprised when I hit my first repeat in 1:50, which was faster than almost all the times we hit last week. After that, I just tried to stay relaxed at that effort through the remainder of the workout. When I hit my seventh in 1:47, I figured that was about as fast as I was gonna get while staying at a relaxed effort so I figured I would just try to hit that again on the last one. I was pretty shocked when I saw 1:44 but was pumped about the workout overall. I'm sure wearing the flats made a difference but it definitely shows that my strength is progressing, so it's a big confidence booster.

I was reassured by two of my close friends today that I don't need to worry about how every distance run feels or how many good days and bad days there are along the way. As long as I keep an eye on my health and put in the work, the results will show in the end. That started to prove true tonight where I hadn't been feeling good but was able to put forth a very solid workout quite comfortably.

Again, I'd just like to reiterate how much I love the 205's. They are probably my favorite shoe ever and next time I get the chance, I may just buy 3 or 4 of them. If Dan reads this (which I doubt he does) this would be a hint to him that I need a new pair.

Thanks again for the comments guys and I'll catch up with you soon.