Speedwork in the Park

   Generally, I'm a big fan of going to the park and Nashville has some great ones.  Unfortunately, today is Tuesday which means speedwork so today I was dreading going to the park.  Now, I'm not a fast runner by any means (10-minute miler, 9-minutes if I'm feeling good), and I have a tendency to not push myself when I'm running because I'm running distance and I don't want to exhaust myself before my run is over.  Plus, let's be honest here, running fast is hard.  And it hurts.  And sometimes makes me want to puke.  Call me crazy, but doing things that are hard, hurt and make me want to puke are usually not at the top of my list of favorite things to do.
   But, as I said, it's Tuesday and for the next few weeks I'm doing speedwork drills to help me get faster.  Simple premise really - run faster for shorter increments so your body gets used to running at speed.  The plan is one given to me last year when I signed up for speed sessions through Fleet Feet (FF), one of my local running stores.  Yes, I actually paid someone to tell me how to run in a way that makes me want the throw up.  Brilliant of me, huh?  And unfortunately, I didn't maintain my fitness over the year, so any speed I had has been lost.  So here I am, a year later and actually slower than I was this time last year.  Sigh.
  Anyway, today's drills consisted of 8x400 with a 400 break in-between and then mile cool-down run.  For those following along at home, that means I have to run 400 meters targeting a specific time (in my case 2:12), then jog/walk the next 400 and repeat 8 times.   The park where we run doesn't have a track, but there is a 1-mile loop with the 400s clearly marked.  Sometimes, it's a giant pain to run in this particular park because it's centrally located and becomes very popular when the weather is nice, but today it was cold and windy (really windy) so the park was pretty much empty.
   Overall, all 8 of my 400s were below my allotted time, generally less than 2:00.  My legs felt a little dead at first after doing all of the kickboard last night in the pool, but they felt better after the first lap.  Plus, that's just something I need to get used to if I'm going to be able to finish this Half-Ironman.  The wind was definitely an issue as well.   The 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th repeat was against the wind and man, it just hit you like you smacked a wall.  Totally sucked.  How my times didn't drastically drop on those repeats, I don't know.
  A big shout-out to my friend Heidi, who joined me today.  It's always better for me to have someone to run with, especially if they are my same pace or faster (as in Heidi's case).  I'm sure that's my times were a little too fast - I was trying to keep up with her!  Plus, there is something to having someone there suffering with me that makes speedwork almost fun.  So Thanks Heidi!