Back to the Track

It was good to get back to the track tonight for a speed workout. It had rained most of the afternoon so it was pretty soggy outside but the new track at Klein High seems to drain well and was in great shape. I was late getting over there (about 9 pm) after leaving work late and stopping at the store on the way home.

The plan called for running 1600 meters 3 times at a 7:04 pace. In between the intervals, I was to jog 800 meters. The plan also called for a 7 total miles so I needed to add mileage with a warm up/cool down.

Here's where I ended up:

Warm up - 1.9 miles
1600 - 6:40 (this little outburst would cost me later!)
800
1600 - 7:02
800
1600 - 7:12
Cool down - 1.9 miles

Total miles - 7.8

My left calf still hasn't recovered from the injury on Sunday. I'm still not exactly sure what to call it. My best self-diagnosis at the moment is a muscle strain. Hopefully it's nothing more than that. It sure was tightening up on me tonight!

For Saturday's long run (18 miles), I'm going to run with Stephanie's group. I think Jonathan is coming out too. This will be my longest run to date. After missing last week's long run, it will be interesting to see how it goes.

I posted an excerpt from an article I read today about the mental part of running. This is too true! At least it is for me. Each time I go longer than I have before, my brain seems to have an automatic governor on my pace. I noticed this at the Ogden Half Marathon. It happened at about 10 miles. I've also noticed it on my 12 mile and 14 mile long runs. There seems to be some self-preservation psychology at play. It's weird. Even knowing about it and that it's likely to occur, doesn't allow me to do anything to prevent it ... at least I haven't figured it out yet.