Chip Away; Chip Away.

I had a track workout today, my first in nearly six weeks. On tap was the following:

2 miles easy warm-up

Form drills / dynamic warm-up

2 x (1200m @ 7:09 + 400m recovery)

2 miles easy cool down

Phhhbbbbbttt, said the runner brain dismissively, and with good reason. My Aug. 4th 10K PR pace was 7:09, so running .75 miles, twice, with a jog break, should be nothing. Hell, in a 10K or half marathon cycle, a typical track workout was four or five 1200s at a 6:45 pace. As soon as I saw the workout, I was pre-emptively adding an additional 1200m in my mind, because otherwise I wouldn't feel like I'd really done anything, obvs.

What I neglected to take into consideration was the fact that I have not had a single good run (with the exception of Santa Rosa, which I suppose you could call good, for certain definitions of the word) since that Aug. 4 PR race. They've pretty much all run the gambit from vaguely unpleasant to utterly miserable. Seriously; I feel like I've lost two years of fitness in three weeks.

The fact that there was a soccer game going on at Kezar Stadium and I was banished to the concrete upper track was a bad omen (it usually is - I hate running on that thing). Add to that the demoralizing headwind on the backstretch and the chilly sideways drizzle pelting GG Park, and you can probably understand why I had a bad feeling from the moment I turned on my Garmin.

(Fact: It is a bad sign when you really, really want a rest break .4 miles into your 2 mile warm-up.)

Less than halfway into that first 1200, I knew there would be no third interval. Not that I couldn't have physically forced myself through one; I just knew there was nothing to be gained from it given that the workout was to only do two. Also, my lower legs (which are clearly still out of shape) were killing me.

I was glad when the intervals were over, though the cool down (can you really call it a "cool down" when you're doubting your ability to finish?) still sucked.

Still, I have faith. I have faith that, somewhere beneath all these slow, demoralizing, bitterly painful miles, my mojo is waiting for me to dig it out. I just have to keep chipping away.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

On the way home from the track I hit the Safeway, and we made this for dinner:

FYI, this isn't my picture. I'm shit at food pictures. Click for the recipe.

I'd never made it before but it sounded tasty & reasonably healthy, and it didn't disappoint! Highly recommend for a reasonably quick & easy dinner. We made it with shrimp, but you could very easily leave the shrimp out for a hearty veggie meal. (There was barely any shrimp in it anyway, given how small the ones I got from Safeway were.) Pairs well with a nice Chardonnay. I had it with this one, which, in case you forgot, I won at this race. ;) #notsohumblebrag

Hope your (short) week is off to a great start! :D