Tactical Thursday

Thursday October 7, 2004

Time: 5:30pm
Place 400m loop behind statue at Mont-Royal park
Running company: Dorys and the Thursday group.

How I felt before:

Mentally: Good as I was off running for last four days. Slightly apprehensive as I do not remember the last time I was off for so long:

Physcially: Left ankle and shin were presenting some issues. I had a horrible lunch as it did not move (burger and poutine) from my tummy. Felt heavy

On the menu: 3 sets of 3 loops of the 400m track with a 3 min rest in between pieces. Here is the catch. Run the first loop at a pace whereby you can run the second (not walk) second loop at a pace exactly 30 seconds slower and complete the final loop with the same pace as the first loop. Dorys did not assign percentages to serve as guides. We were to run based on feeling.

As per usual, Dorys punished the group by running with us for the first loop. Fortunately, I did not fall for the trap of trying to keep up with him. As the front runners would run the first loop too fast (being fresh and wanting to keep up with Dorys), they slowed down more by more than 30 seconds in the second loop and were not able to resume their initial speed for the final loop.

As for myself, I ran conservatively; with the race a week away, a burger in my tummy and my ankle issues. I ran the first loop too slow. As a result for the second loop, I was not able to decrease my pace by 30 secs. I was running my recovery pace at it was only 15 sec slower than my first loop.

In a similar vein my second and third set were in a similar fashion. The first I would run too slow, the time differential between the first and second was less than the 30 seconds demanded, however being the final pieces, I sprinted the final loop of the set in frustration. I was able to narrow the gap from 15 secs to 10 seconds from the first set to the final set.

How I felt afterward:

Mentally: Awake and ready for more. Disappointed because it took me half an hour to get prepared

Physically: The sluggish effect from the burger was gone. My ankle and shin issues were no longer present and my body was finally warmed up and ready to run.

Concerns: I hope it doesn't take that long for my body to warm up during race day. Then again, I better not eat burgers the night before. I should just stick with banana and yogurt.

The stretch afterward was wonderful. Dorys suggested that as fall draws near, should the weather not be cooperative during our run sessions, we can move to the pool for aqua jogging. Some of the girls raised issue with that citing that they did not want to wearing a swim cap or remove their makeup. That got me riled up inside. Oh well, everyone has their reasons I suppose.