Know When to Fold 'em

He said, "Son, I've made a life

Out of readin' people's faces
Knowin' what the cards were
By the way they held their eyes
So if you don't mind my sayin'
I can see you're out of aces
For a taste of your whiskey
I'll give you some advice"

So I handed him my bottle
And he drank down my last swallow
Then he bummed a cigarette
And asked me for a light
And the night got deathly quiet
And his face lost all expression
Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy
You gotta learn to play it right

You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealin's done

Sometimes I know when to run. I don't always know when to fold 'em, however. But I think I did today.

Saturday was a "good" day at Buckeye Woods. I ran two on my own, followed by five with Debbie Scheel, followed by five with Debbie and Jan Frandsen, followed by some more by myself. Although the initial twelve were fine, I don't always do so well when everyone else leaves me on my own. But this time, with six more to go to be able to call it a long run, things actually did go well. I did three loops around the wetlands, plus some more before and after to get those six. I managed to pick up the pace fairly nicely during this stretch. All's well that ends well. Where have we heard this before?

Sunday did not end so well. I got six in outside before the cold rain got to be too much for me. So I did a couple more on the mill. All in all, the miles were progressively less great. And for the third week in a row, I came close, but could not quite exceed 80 miles.

Monday's slog on the mill was also not so good. In fact, it was worse. What is it about Mondays?

This takes us to today. It's been a few weeks, but today was the day: back to the track. I thought about doing five one-mile repeats. Then I thought about six. Then two 3-mile tempo runs. Then six by one-mile again. Then five again. Miles one through five were pretty much just the right amount of effort and difficulty. I think I could have done one more. But I chose not to. Home I went, leaving something (albeit not much) on the track.

Makes me seem pretty darn smart, right? Not so fast (said the old guy who's current speedwork is like yesterday's slog). Those five did indeed take a lot out of me. It's probably a real good thing that I didn't go for six. 

This Sunday it's Buckeye Woods (the real race). Well, almost real - we're keeping it even more low-key than ever due to COVID safety concerns. It's just come and run, anytime you want. I'm still going to go for 50K. This will still be reasonably important for me, however. I will try not to fold 'em.

Day 82: Share the Love

Most of my running is solitary these days. I do better and enjoy it more when I run with others, but that's not usually in the cards for me, especially in these Covid-19 Pandemic times. So when long-time-but-not-so-much-lately-training-partner Michelle Wolff asked if I wanted to join her for a Tuesday track training trot, I jumped at the chance.

Her goal was to do three miles at AT but close to tempo pace, then another mile at a faster pace. Amid the rain, beautiful sunrise, and pink rainbow, we did all that. I then went on to run three more 800s.

So I suppose you could say there was a little bit of everything today: rain, sunrise, rainbow, tempo (ish), and various interval lengths. All (or at least most) whilst sharing the joy and misery of the track.

A Ten

1) To run fast, you have to start fast. Or is it: Don’t start too fast; save something for the rest of the repeat and finish strong. What to do when you consider conflicting advice? Both things, of course. I’ve started my Yasso workout at Buckeye H.S. track. Lap one is always the toughest, except for the other nine. I’m starting with the philosophy that I do need to begin fast, but not so much that I feel it a whole lot. This before the devil knows your dead strategy is something I apply to the first 200 meters of every 800-meter repeat. It seems to work, as the next 400 meters feel tough, but not exhausting. I’m able to run the final 200 meters fairly fast. Even so, I’m pretty tired after this one. And egads, I have nine more to go. 3:47.

2) Last week I managed to run the ten 800s at an average time of 3:50. That was a little slower than I’d wanted, but at least they were steady and consistent. Today I want to do them all under 3:50. Is it possible? Well, I did okay on my first one; all I need to do is continue running that fast for all the others. This one seems a teensy bit easier than the first. 3:46.

3) Light rain is falling on and off. The 69F temperature doesn’t feel too bad, but the humidity is through the roof. This repeat is feeling easier still, and I’ll get a quick water break afterward. 3:43.

4) I pick up a little trash whilst going around on my recovery lap. This is just something I do when the notion hits me. One item is a water bottle that seems full. I twist off the top and hear the familiar click to indicate that it hadn’t been opened before. This is good; now I can drink at the edge of the track rather than going all the way over to the water fountain, saving me at least 25 extra steps each time. It’s official. These are definitely getting easier. At least a little. 3:44.

5) I hear footsteps and look back. No one is there. The noise is my own big floppy shorts, soaked with rain and sweat, flapping in the wind. Since I’m the only one at the track this early morning, and since I’m traveling clockwise (something I never do when others are present) the noise did manage to spook me just a bit. Not enough to run faster, however. 3:43.

6) After that last one, I took a water break (out of my new-found bottle) and stopped to stretch for just a minute. It’s always hard to get moving again after a brief rest like this, but here I go. I’m only half-way done and I feel shot. How in the world will I be able to do five more? 3:44.

7) Well, now it’s only four more. That sounds so much better. Maybe I will indeed be able to do this. 3:44.

8) Number eight somehow sounds better than three more to go. I’m not sure why that is. It sounds even better to say when I’m done with this one, I’ll only have number 9 and number 10 to finish. 3:44.

9) I’ve seen it happen. Occasionally, I’m able to pick up the pace during the final one or two laps such that they are my fastest two of the bunch. Today is not one of those occasions. But at least I’m not slowing down, either. 3:43.

10) Now I think I am going to make it. The last one always feels good to say to oneself. For this and the last couple, I skip checking my watch at the first 200 meters. I’m still following the before the devil knows you’re dead strategy, and it’s working well for me. I only look at the end of each 200-meter section after that. As with number 9, I can’t run any faster, but I don’t slow down either. No big deal. I’m extremely gratified to be finishing and to have met my time goal for the day. 3:43.