More Track Work. Thrilling, Right?

Track work: 6.31 miles @ 52:51
Trainer Assigned Homework: 20 minutes
Dog Running: 1 mile @ 10:00 (estimated. I don't time that shit)



This is the track workout that almost didn't happen.

I live by CSUN (California State University, Northridge). I discovered two weeks ago that I could, due to what looks like a long term jimmyrig, access the University track. Score! So, last night I parked a good distance away (as close as I could get without needing a permit), and headed over to the track.

Only, the gate was locked. FUCK.

Okay, Rose, you can do this. There's a 300m dirt loop somewhere around here. You just have to find it.

So, I jogged around a baseball field and a soccer field and some other well gated fields. And then I found it. Except, it had rained a few times during the day. And the dirt track, on top of only being 300m, now had large lengths of slippery mud.

Fuck. That. Noise.

Now, while I had spent most of the day not wanting to do this stupid track workout, I had jogged over a mile at this point, and I wasn't going to fucking give up. I thought about trying to make it work on my treadmill, but the arm handle things are not long enough. I have tried to dismount that thing, and I risk faceplanting. I wasn't willing to take that risk 9 times. I resigned myself to staring at my watch too much and doing sprints on a semi-deserted street. Which would be fucking awful. FUCKING AWFUL.

But, as luck would have it, I had to jog by the other side of the track. And there was another gate. And while this gate was closed, it was NOT locked.

And so, I ran.

My goal: 1:40-1:45 per 400m, nine times

Actual 400m times: 1:34, 1:33, 1:33, 1:31, 1:33, 1:33, 1:34, 1:33, 1:32

I thought this was not as fast as two weeks ago (my last track workout), but I double checked, and hey, it's slightly better. So, that's good. And, fun fact, I've been sick for BOTH track workouts. Fucking lame. I'm interested to see what I can do when I feel fine.

I wasn't pushing myself as hard as I could. I was pushing myself. And it was difficult. But it wasn't awful. My lungs were struggling, and I spent a lot of my recovery laps coughing up gross shit. But when I was actually sprinting (well, running fast, I wasn't sprinting) it felt good. Slightly uncomfortable, but maintainable. Which was nice. Satisfying.

So, yup.