Intervals Suck.

Ohhhhhh shit. What the hell was I thinking?

I haven't done an interval workout since wayyyy back in 2009. That was back when the Vandy track which is 1.5 miles from my house was open to the public and once a week or so, I'd run over there and bust out a few 800s around the track.

Time has a way of erasing painful memories, doesn't it?

So, this morning, I met up with Steve for my first interval workout in like 2 years. The training plan called for this:

1 mile warm up
5x400m @ 2:00 (with 400m rests in between)
1 mile cool down

Easy, right? Heh. Heh. The annoying thing is I was actually EXCITED to get started this morning. Like, what the hell is wrong with me? Anyway... I realized that the 1 mile warm up goes by very quickly when you know you've gotta run fast after it.

The first interval was decent. I felt good, it went by fast and I was like... okay, yeah, I can still run fast (granted, only occasionally and only for 400 meters at a time). We clocked our first 400 at 1:42.

First of all, let me say... It's dark outside and 400s are kinda short to be watching your watch constantly to figure out my pace. Plus, I was lazy and just kinda let Steve run ahead of me and I tried to keep up, instead of trying to figure out if I was running the right pace or not.

The second interval was when I realized... oh my god, running fast STILL sucks. We clocked 1:43 and my legs felt like lead.

The third interval I used a yoga mental technique...One of my teachers says a lot... think of the one thing you want most in your life and then reach for it, like you can touch it if you reach hard enough. And uhhh.. it kinda makes you feel like a worthless piece of shit if you just phone it in after that. So, I ran like I was trying to reach the one thing I want most in my life. And it actually kinda worked. 1:43.

The fourth interval, Steve had warned me would feel the hardest. He wasn't kidding. I think I must have started out a little slower and then picked it up at the very end, because I felt a little vomit-y for the last 50-75 meters. Ugh. 1:42 .

The fifth and final interval I was thrilled that it was the last, because I'm not used to HEAVING so much while I'm running. I mean, I've gotten so used to just puttering around with my regular pace and not pushing myself, that I forgot what that feels like. Anyway, we ran it in 1:45.

Overall... it was tough. But not tough enough that I broke. So, I guess that's a good sign. We also ran a little faster than we were supposed to. Ooops. Sorry, Coach. But, never fear! I don't overachieve for long.

First Interval Session done. God, I hope they start to feel easier at some point.

Number of times I said the F word in today's workout: 0 !!!!
(So far so good!)