Week 9: 2000m Repeats

My friend and running partner Amy was lamenting yesterday about not being motivated right now to run. Keep in mind this is coming from a girl who just ran a 3:18 in Boston and still runs 7 days a week and 50+ miles!!! Not motivated??? What she was really saying was she's not motivated for the strict regime of Gazelle track and speed workouts. Her real enjoyment these days comes from simply running. What a concept...

For the next few weeks, I'm still very tied to the training regime. I can't say that I look forward to these speed workouts, but I always learn a little something about my progress when I compare results.

Yesterday's workout was 2000m repeats in Zilker Park with a 2:00-2:30min rest in between (I never did figure out what it was). The last time we did these was in August and I did four repeats.

I did:

8:38, 8:13, 8:19, 8:07 (That's good solid pace somewhere around the 6:40ish range)

After consulting a few marathon pace calculators, wisdom shows that if you want to run a 3:20 marathon, you should be running 2000m repeats between 8:20-8:30. I was right on target in August. I had no idea what I had in me yesterday.

As usual, it was dark as hell and we made the 1.4 mile trek from Runtex to Zilker Park. I twas a pretty large group today as the Gazelle Austin marathon group was also coming to Zilker to run 1000m repeats. It was good to see friends who had been away for a while (Jennifer is back!!) We started our first repeat in a rather large group that separated itself quickly. Boy, were we surprised to notice (or feel) a new speedbump that had been installed around the first turn!! No one bit the dust, but it certainly caught a few of us by surprise...just when you think you know every inch from running in the dark so much!

Repeat #1: 8:40 (a tad slow, but a good way to start)

Time to pick it up for the next one. It looked like my group had the same thought.

Repeat 2: 8:06 (too fast for me!)

Frank, Marcy and Thon were on fire and finishing with sub 8:00s or just around the 8:00 mark. That's amazing!!

Repeat 3: 8:11 ( a little fast, but more like it)

Repeat 4: 8:11 (consistency is good). I was pooped and very content with quitting. Coach stopped the Chicago people after this one. Hubby Mike had to split to go off to work. G told Thon and I to run another one. Damn...What's left in the tank?

Repeat 5: 8:14 (not bad) I could feel my body wanting to slow down big time, but when I turned that final corner on Barton Springs Road, I kicked it in as much as I could. Thon still managed to blow right by me for a fast finished. Thon also managed to blow (again!). As we were finishing, I heard that familiar cough and *bleh* here came the Gatorade. I'm just pissed that Thon pukes and STILL beats me every time. Bastard....

I was so pleased with these results. If nothing else, like I told Amy, sometimes I have to run fast just to prove that I can.

That's how I feel about most things in general. I put a lot of things on my plate and set such high goals just to prove that I can. To push through pain...to struggle a little. This workout is proof positive that the hard work does pay off in a big way. It also strengthens my pride and gratitude for the end result, which makes me a happier person.

It also makes me a hungry person! Man, is my appetite continuously buzzing these days! I guess that means the systems are working properly!