Mid Season development

I'm starting to get the hang of the pop in my legs. We've put the training-through phase on hold for a moment as we grapple for a few good times at Oxy Distance Carnival and Cal/Nevada Championships.

After a couple of 800s in 1:56.0 and 1:56.4 respectively, plus a couple of insanely harsh workouts, my speed is starting to develop into what I'm wanting to to. I still have a ways to go, but 26s 200s feel comfortable, and that is a step in the right direction.

Yesterday was a good indicator. A staple workout we have is called the '500 breakdown.' It goes 500-400-300, 7min recovery. All out. That's it. Sounds easy? It's ridiculously hard. You're essentially in three separate races. Against your teammates. Against yourself. Against the clock.

I usually lead the first 200m of most reps, simply because the other guys aren't the best pacers in the world. But this workout isn't about pace, you just go all out.

15min warmup, then spike up.

The long warmup gives us time to feel out our muscles after spring break. We've had a pretty easy last couple of days, so everyone should feel good. At least to some degree.

On the line for the 500, the mood is a little tense. Everyone knows how much this workout hurts.

As we fly around the turn and down the backstretch, I settle in. 200m passed in 26.low. Nothing I haven't done before.

Coming around the turn for the home straight I feel good. I have another gear. Lets use it

I change gears and pass the 400m mark in 53.5. 67 for the 500.

7min of sauntering about, trying to stay loose before the hamstrings lock up and stay that way.

400m - 54/55

7min of stumbling about, trying to get rid of the locked hamstrings.

Final 100m of the 300, and everyone is in their own world. The Pain has shifted to track mode. Unquestionably, unequivocally, track mode.

The next 45min are a daze. Runners are strewn about the track premises, throwing up, shuffle jogging, clutching their sides, legs, head, the grass. We are a mess.

But the speed pays off. How much can a race hurt when you hurt this much in practice?

Let me tell you,

not as much.

Training Through.

The biggest difference between high school and college for me is the training method known as "training through."

Basically, you disregard running well on a random Saturday meet in order to get an extra hard day or two of training in that week. Repeat this for 10 weeks and you probably are a bit stronger than you would've been had you taken that day easy.

The thing is, this means you run pretty poorly in races, because your legs are toast at the starting line.

This week was a perfect example. Tuesday was one of the hardest speed workouts I've ever done, wednesday was a typical base run, which allowed us to recover for thursday - a long interval workout with little rest inbetween. This made us tired for friday, which was another typical base EXCEPT this time we were lucky enough to have a 2mile tempo in the middle of it.

Flash forward to saturday, and I'm struggling with my warm up.

Not exactly what I would call pleasant.

The race was odd, because I was aerobically walking, but anaerobically obliterated. I kept looking down thinking - "come on legs do something." but nothing came.

I understand this process, I've seen it work wonders. And, god willing, it probably will for me too. But it's not the feel-good challenge that you are used to.

I love racing, toeing the line even with my competitors and putting it all out there. But that's the thing - when we do stuff like this, it's frustrating because I know that if I had taken the last couple days easy I would've stomped them. I ran about 8 seconds slower than I'm currently capable of, and that is fucking infuriating.

But I know that eventually I'll feel good, and I'll get a shot at doing what I do best.

Racing fresh.

It's just making sure I can survive the path there that's the problem.