400's all out

Yesterdays track workout was the bomb. It was short, it was fast, and whenever I am stewing mentally processing a race I tend to train like a champ. The workout was 4x400, 2x200, 4x400. Quite a bit shorter than the usual track work that we do. The first interval I came in at 85 seconds and I thought "Humm, maybe I should try to hang onto the big boys today". You know, the boys that I usually finish half a track behind and then spend the recovery lap trying to catch back up to them, only to be dumped again on the next interval. Yea, those boys. So I stepped it up. 81 for the next, then an 80. Humm, still feeling spunky, so I dropped to a 79 for the last one in the first set. I ran the 200's in 38, and 38, and tried to set myself up for the last four 400's. I wanted to run hard, to run the stuffing out of myself. I just went for it. At the point where the boys were gapping me in the first set, I tried to hold on just a little longer. They usually ended up gapping me on the last 100, but I held on as long as I could. The last set I came in at 79, 77, 77, 79. I wish I could have held that 77 on the last one, but I was thrilled with the set.

So, usually on a workout like this I would have shot for 82-85, hoping to finish off in the low 80's. I think I am standing in my own way sometimes. I am allowing myself to become the person at the track that people want to catch. I need to make it tougher on them. It was also an eye opening day for me. When I spend Tuesday preparing to have a good workout (nutrition and sleep) and arrive at track ready to lay it down without expectations, I surprise myself. Yesterday was a large leap in the right direction.