The title of this post is a bit of a double entendre. I feel like I need to be committed to an institution after what a challenging day I had at work. Sometimes it’s hard to be a litigator. I usually really like arguing and talking, but I don’t like hearing people argue at me like I am the scum of the earth. I was in Raleigh all day and knew I would get home late, so I had the decision of either running as soon as I got back to Charlotte, waiting until Super Baby went to bed, or giving up and settling into bed with a book and glass of wine. But I had made a commitment to my family and my running, so I came home, fed Super Baby, played with her, then shuffled off to the Y. Since today was not an easy run day, I was even less thrilled about the prospect of running at 7:30.

The good thing about running that late is saving the $2.50 on childcare at the Y. Well, that’s just incidental. The best thing is that the indoor track is virtually empty! There were only a couple people, which gave me no excuse not to run hard, but for my own decrepit body still reeling from going into total spasms all day yesterday. I went to the chiropractor and massage therapist, both of which helped somewhat. This is just my body’s way of telling me I am not made for land. I am a sea-faring creature by nature. But I digress… my workout was another one I have never tried. So it was not all that pretty. Add one part exhaustion/frustration from the day’s events, one part soreness from yesterday’s massage, and one part ignorance at how difficult the run would be – and what do you get? Pure and utter agony.

SuperDad pointed out to me that I may be eliminating a potential group of readers by using too much running lingo like “recovery” or “ladder” or “specific endurance training.” I didn’t realize that a) I have many readers, b) I have that many non-runner readers, or c) these terms are not self-explanatory to anyone with access to Google. But he makes somewhat of a valid point, so I will make clear in this post exactly what everything means.

I started with one 3200 (that’s two miles) warmup (getting ready to run hard jog) at marathon pace (for me- about 8:20. For you, maybe 9:30, or “no such pace because I am not crazy enough to run a marathon) Then I stretched for about a minute and went on to 2×1600 (a 1600 is a mile) at HMP (half marathon pace – about 7:30). I took 30 seconds rest (not doing anything but chugging water) between those miles. Next I did 4 x 800 (half mile) at 10k pace (about 7:00), with one minute between each. I finished with 6 x 400 (quarter mile) at 5k pace (about 6:45).

My splits were:
3200 – 16:20

1st 1600 – 7:25
2nd 1600- 7:23

1st 800 – 3:28
2nd 800 – 3:32 (yikes)
3rd 800 – 3:25
4th 800 – 3:24

1st and 2nd 400 – 1:38
3rd 400- 1:39
4th 400- 1:37
5th 400- 1:38
6th 400- 1:36

Afterward, I don’t know how far I warmed down. It was enough that I was no longer hyperventilating or cursing myself for doing this awful workout. I would have rather been water boarded or forced to watch a marathon of That’s So Raven. If this workout doesn’t make me faster and stronger, I give up.

Looking back, a mere two hours later, two things stand out in my mind: 1) I didn’t quit, despite the sheer agony I was in by the third of those half milers, and 2) someone on that track smelled like the inside of Super Baby’s Diaper Genie. So today’s run was half good/half bad.

Thanks to this blog, I have stayed committed to running hard and running smart. I have also committed myself to eating just two Cajun Filet biscuits a week, and I have only had one so far, so Saturday, it’s Bo time!