Three weeks after the last time I wrote about it, it was time for the track again yesterday morning. The welcome news? Shorter distance, since my companion is starting his taper for an October marathon, so aiming for faster/shorter reps. We did 6 x 800m, with the intention of dropping 2 seconds each rep. Not so consistent, but we did get faster, and I let it go for the last one.
In order…
3:07
3:04
2:59
2:58
2:58
2:43
That last one was close to what I could put in for 8 reps the summer before junior year of high school, training for cross-country season. I have rarely kept a good training journal, but I did that summer, and I still have it (somewhere…box in the garage?). I ran that workout in the summer heat of Billings, Montana with a good friend and his father. I still think of that workout as one of the harder ones I ever did, so finding a bit of speed several (ahem) years later feels good.
The problem is, as I discussed yesterday with a college friend, the comparative scale. When I compare my fitness to where I was five years ago, I’m happy. When I compare it to my fitness in the late high school through just after college years, it’s not such an even match…and it never will be. I’m (slowly) coming to terms with that reality. The aches and pains help reinforce the message.
I’m about ten days away from my one triathlon for the year. It will be harder to wake up early thereafter, so I’ll have to find the next race.