Going to fast

A couple of days ago, I was running down the street on my way to meet some friends.  Why was I running?  "Because if I'm going somewhere, I was running".  The real reason — it was a gorgeous day, I hadn't worked out yet, and I just like to run.  So, imagine this.  I'm running down the sidewalk of a street notorious for two things, students and patrolling police cars.  On this particular day, the students were conspicuously absent.  Gone on spring break.  But, the police car was there.  And as I was sprinting down the sidewalk, I spotted it coming up the block and I involuntarily (sub-conciously) slowed down mid-stride... as if I was speeding!

My bod is giving me all kinds of clues that it is a rest/mini-taper week.  First, every time I stand up, my eyesight blacks out.  Second, my appetite is voracious!  Third, every workout I do,  I want to go too fast, but instead end-up feeling that the workout was too short and too slow.  Feeling this way makes me a little cranky, so wen I hit the track on Tuesday for a short speed session, I decided to see what this old bod could do.  I had a ladder in mind and a couple of speeding guys from the triathlon team to push me.  I got a decent warmup, peppered it with some drills and long strides, then stepped up to the line.  I intended to run a 6:00 mile.  When I went through the first 400 in 1:23 feeling giddy, it turned into a 5:44 mile.  Then, I hit the 1200 with a slightly faster, but still controlled pace.   On the 800, I started out smooth, then came blasting home.  I took four steps into the 400 and crumpled to the ground.

When I say crumpled, that is exactly what I did.  It wasn't from excruciating pain, though.  It was from self-preservation.  I felt a tiny twinge in my quad, and rather than gut it out and possible cause injury.  I ended the workout right there.  No harm done.  But using my super-duper 20-20 hindsight (available at your local pharmacy), I guessed that my warm-up had been insufficient, my stretching non-existant, and my mindset out of whack with my real goal.

It happens.  Hopefully, my going too fast this week will translate into "pleasantly fast" this weekend at the Showdown at Sundown in Vegas.  The race course looks like it has a suitable number of hills (my favorite) and starts in the afternoon (even better).  And, I've been itching to race a triathlon all season.  Plus, it's always nice to see my sister in Sin City.  I don't know if I am going to be allowed to write a post about the race... because what happens in Vegas...  So, I'm going to make a ruling on that right now.  The race is actually in Henderson, NV, and as far as I know, the residents of Henderson are very specific about saying they live in Henderson and not Las Vegas (so says my little sister). Wish me luck!  And look for the race report on Sunday.