post the thirty-ninth, 2013

track workouts cause me equal parts delight and anxiety. it's all still new, there's an element of surprise, something bright and shiny to occupy my fitful brain, to sate my bottomless curiosity. but despite the pretty distractions, i remain well-aware that i am to be Working On Something Specific and therefore cannot give in to the pure fun, pure play of the experience. i must keep watch over my focus, be vigilant over my effort in a way that i am not quite sure i am capable... hence the anxiety.

workout cats be serious.

today's workout is simple enough: 5x800. in case you don't know, 800 means 800 meters - twice around the track or approximately one half mile. i've never done this workout, so i am curious to see what happens, but at the same time, i know holding focus and pace for two circuits will be a challenge. once around, i can bust that out and hang on for dear life, but twice? i am going to have to dole out the effort.

i'm thankful to have learned there's a public track about 1.5 miles from my office. obviously, one cannot do a track workout without a track, but the point of the workout is the intervals, not the track per se. without the track, i'd be forced to do these streetside, and talk about distracting. at least on the track, i have an outside chance of focusing.

it's 40º, so i put on neon pink shorts, sleeveless top under a long-sleeve shirt, mittens, orange shoes. i jog over to the track, taking about 16 minutes to get there, warming up. it's a bit windy and the track's atop a hill, so i know the wind will be a factor today. i arrive at the park, shut off my watch at 16, and walk across blacktopped parking, climbing the hill via a wheelchair ramp. the irony is delicious, no? at the track complex, i see there are a few collegiate folk working on their field skills - pole vault, hammer throw, shot put. no one is using the track.

i demitten and jam the woolies into fence near the bleachers. i expect not to need them -- to get warm enough doing intervals to not need them -- but i'll want them for the return trip so i secure them against blowing away. yes, it's that windy. i step onto the track, move to lane one, start my watch and my feet as near to simultaneous as possible.

mitten's in the fence.

coming around the first turn, approaching the hammer and shot cage, i try to hold nice form. clearly i don't want to embarrass myself in front of the young folk, but i also know enough about running to know that stride efficiency and consistent form are key to speed and endurance. yes, i am looking good. i round the second turn and hit a wall of wind. aeolus on a cracker! i bow into it, imagining i'm more aerodynamic that way. it's a pushing fight down the backstretch, turn three brings more wind (!!), then turn four, back on the front stretch and the wind is at my back. conclusion: the front stretch is where i will make hay today.

lap one. lap two. first rest.

the 800s are interspersed with 400 rest. coach didn't give a time or pace for these - only said try not to stop or walk, so i don't stop and i don't walk. there's no confusing this pace with the "on" pace, but hey, no worries. everyone here knows what's what. i'm obviously a lunatic for running intervals in this wind, but at least i appear to have a plan, right?

the 800s are to be 3:50-4:00. the first started at 16:00 and ended at 19:47, so i am pretty much right on target there. just keep the same effort, right? probably will slow down due to fatigue and wind, and end up in the given range.

second interval is as hard as the first but i am ready for the wind so it doesn't mess with my head mentally, but as for PHYSICALLY... my nose is running faster than i am. my right sleeve is quickly wet with snot. i've strapped my garmin over the left sleeve - i have this thing about flappy sleeves - so to avoid k.o.'ing myself with ol' garmy, i confine the snot wiping to starboard.

second rest. as i peacefully joggle around the track, i have a chance to watch the collegians at work. is this the JV? they aren't very good. maybe it's the wind.

hup-ho. third interval. after i complete this one, i will be over half finished. that's an inspiration right there. i buckle down and try to get a good one here, don't let the wind have its way. somewhere in this lap a snot-wipe catches blood. oh, yeah! that's right! working hard! bloody nose!

fast-cat goes running. other cats merely observe.

i can't tell how fast these are. the first one started on an even 16:00, but the following are not so tidy since i am chain-running them. just trying to keep an even effort and good form.

third rest. fourth interval. the penultimate interval has a specific challenge - don't hold back too much for the last one. i want the last to be the fastest, so there's a mental thing going on about conserving for it. i don't want to spend my all on the fourth, but i do want it to be respectable. i do allow a daydream about the final interval, though, imagining how it will go, how strong i'll feel putting all my effort on the line. i know now that i'll finish the workout, so i also think about how i'll feel satisfied to have accomplished it.

fourth rest. this is the slowest of them all. partially, i'm pretty much beat, but partially i am stocking up for the final interval. coming down the front stretch, approaching the start of the fifth 800, i am eager to see what i have left, anxious about having enough, excited to be almost done.

the fifth interval starts like the others, so i try right away to put more into it -- since, you know, it's not meant to be like the others. i really push into the wind on the back stretch. by the start of the second lap, i am heating up but since i'm strapped into the shirt, i can't get out. gah! i breathe any old way i can, let the snot just fly where it will. on the final straightaway, my form is breaking down, i can feel it, so i just focus on not tripping over myself, and i RUN.

boom. finished. i have no idea if that's how a workout is meant to work, but that's how i work it, and it feels good to me. i put my mittens back on and trot happily back to the office.

happy is the cat who completes her workout.