This is cruel :)

My exact words to Cassie during Monday night’s adventure on the track 🙂

Simone was doing 5x1000m in 3:20-3:25, and was starting late enough in the evening that I could join after work. I figured it’d be a good first speed workout. My previous 1000s have been around 3:19-3:20 (before the Trials).

We started the first repeat and I immediately knew I was NOT going to be able to hang with her. It’s funny how fast you lose speed. I’ve been doing a lot of base work (although, mostly on an elliptical/bike), but that did not help at ALL.

Things that you notice when you’re out of shape: you can’t maintain contact when someone makes a move. What a difference from the month prior when I did a track workout with the team when I felt like I was the one who could change speeds/make moves! Simone would pick up the pace periodically within the repeat, and all I could do was watch her back move farther away from me. I literally couldn’t do anything about it! No matter how much I willed my body to pick it up, to do a short surge, etc. It just simply wouldn’t move any faster. And as the repeat wore on, I progressively slowed.

I also felt like I was straining, tight, running very inefficiently. Seriously, why can’t my body move? Perhaps it’s the 6-7 pounds I’ve put on since the Trials (it’s been so fun! I love chocolate!)? And why can’t my lungs work like they used to?

After the first to repeats (3:24 and 3:29), I realized that I could only handle 800m of her 1000m repeat — except I couldn’t even keep up for that! Sort of embarrasing to admit you can’t hang with someone you used to be able to, but I desperately needed the extra rest 🙂 I think my 800s were in the high 2:40s (2:48-2:49? I didn’t really look, actually).

We did 4 200s after the workout, and I think they were 41, 40, 38, and 37. Felt good to try to move my legs quickly — but also reminded me how much I’ll have to work to gain that top-end speed back.

After I got home & reflected on the workout, I realized that this was the 7th time I had run – any distance – since the Trials. Ha! Was I really expecting to be able to keep up?

Fun workout, all in all. Glad to be back in it, and you have to start somewhere! No use in denying the fact that I’m a little out of shape and slow now :). But — I’m fired up & excited about focusing more on my “speed” (if there is such a thing in these slow-twitch legs!). Hopefully this “getting back into shape” period isn’t too long :).