July 9/09 — Track sessions

Thank god it was cooler than last week! That heat just sucked the strength right out of me! This day it was perfect, sunny and warm but not too hot. We got started with a few warm-up laps and I had a chance to meet another one of Robert’s clients as they finished up. Then he was all mine! He was playing a little MJ in the background that seemed just right for the day.

He told me to go out and do the fastest lap I could, he wanted to see faster than 1:45 — I think my best time was 1:48 — so I went and ran it. I could tell I was going out pretty fast but I kept thinking “it’s only one lap, it’s only one lap” so I kept pushing, approaching the last curve is where it always gets really hard and painful but I kept pushing and completed. Robert asked me what I thought I did and I guessed 1:45. He showed me the watch and it was 1:30!! He asked me how it felt and I said “it hurt” he replied that it was supposed to hurt! So after a recovery period he sent me out for another fast lap, I pushed but felt a little slower, had the same bad spot (approaching the last curve) and finished the lap. I thought I had likely done around 1:40; in fact it was 1:30 AGAIN! No way!

Then he told me to strap on the parachutes (I can’t remember if it was one or two) and do another fast lap, argh! That was harsh, I ran and the stupid parachute would catch the wind and drag on me or flop lifelessly on the ground crunching and catching on the track — oh, yeah it was great! Robert asked me what I thought that lap was, I said 2:00 mins… it was 1:40, how crazy is that! I just about fell over! The last lap with the parachute (stupid, agonizing thing) was hard, and to my delight that one was 1:48! HA! See the cool weather made a difference!

I have been struck by how uncomfortable it is running fast laps at the track, I was kind of under the impression that if I was better it would get easier. I think that is flawed. It seems obvious to me that in fact as I get better I need to push harder so that it always hurts, it always feels like my heart is pounding out of my chest, it always feels like my legs are rubber that won’t obey my brain… This new idea was reinforced by something I just read in Canadian Runner Jul/Aug issue that said “With its combination of sprint speed and distance, the 400m is often considered one of the most painful events in track and field. And once the pain subsides, Wariner says, its Heaven” so true! If the people who run this distance 400m (one lap) feel that pain every single time AND this is their event I better feel the pain or I’m not doing something right!

Lap times:

• 1:30
• 1:30
• w/parachute 1:40
• w/parachute 1:48