Methinks thou doth protest too much

The actual quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet is, The lady doth protest too much, methinks. According to Wikipedia, "It is spoken by Queen Gertrude in response to the insincere overacting of a character in the play within a play created by Prince Hamlet to prove his uncle's guilt in the murder of his father, the King of Denmark." In more modern times, it is used to imply that someone who denies something very strongly is hiding the truth in some way.  I made it gender-neutral so that it could apply to me and my complaining about trail running. I also placed the methinks at the front of the statement, because it's a little more like the way we talk these days.

The title and the paragraph above are my way of apologising for b!tching so much about trail running. First there was my un-race report, and then there was my Dr. Seuss-like poem called Thick mud and trails. No more of that. I'm gonna be positive from now on. Or, at least for this here particular post. Regarding protesting too much, I actually do like trails. Just not knarly, rooty, rocky, muddy ones. And just not for running. <Editor's note: Dan is coming dangerously close to protesting too much again, even though he says he's not. We are going to put an end to this right now.>

Okay. Back to my happy place. Back to my comfort zone.

This place, this zone, today was, as it so often is, the track. (And that's the most commas you can possibly have in a thirteen-word sentence.) I love the track. And today was a good day to run there. There aren't too many bad ones, anyway.

Not to say that it was easy, but, with the help of some friends, I managed to pull off a full-Yasso today. Although I've had faster ones, this result (I averaged about 4 minutes for each 800) wasn't bad. The best part is that it was fairly steady.

And the best part is, it's over!

Claggett M.S. Track - Round, round get around

Useless Stats

The most useless stats yet

Those slings and arrows

Slings and arrows of outrageous fortune are the very worst kinds. Today's outrageous fortune includes being still tuckered out after Sunday's Hinckley ordeal, yesterday's two runs, and today's weather. Yup, it's cold rain again. And wind as well.

4:02 - It's my first of 10 800s, and it's not too awful. I thought I'd be alone in this pitiful weather, but Frank Dwyer has made a surprise appearance. Not that he's doing the same workout as me, but it's nice to have company on the track. Except that now I'll have to remain honest.

4:05 - Whoa. That's going in the wrong direction. For Yasso workouts of yore, the first one was allowed to be slightly slower than the rest. Just a few weeks ago, my conditioning was such that, like today, the first might be just a little bit slower than four minutes, but then the next nine would all be in the 3:50s. Looks like that won't happen today. But maybe I can still turn this into a halfway decent workout.

4:07 - Whoa. Slower still! I didn't even think that would be possible.

4:10 - Okay, this is getting ridiculous. I'm dying here, and the cold rain just started back up. Enough suffering these slings and arrows. Better to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them. (That means I should probably quit.) Let me try to at least do five. That would be fairly respectable, right?

4:11 - I think I really got in under 4:10, but my cold fingers malfunctioned when I tried to engage my watch's lap button. I'm still suffering, but now I'm thinking that I ought to at least try to do six today. 

4:14 - Well, I'm slowing down even more, yet I think I may be able to continue this nonsense even a little bit longer.

4:12 - Hey - real improvement. Woohoo. Now that the rain has subsided a little, I'm going to try to finish all 10, and I'm even going to try to decrease the recovery, taking that all the way down from 400 meters to 300. Why do that, you ask? Because it will enable me to finish faster and get the heck out of here earlier. Feels like I haven't left since last week's run here.

4:18 - I guess a 300-meter recovery wasn't such a good idea after all. But let me try another.

4:32 - Now, I'm absolutely sure that shorter recoveries are not a good thing. Not when all the other slings and arrows of outrageous fortune are also against you. But lookyahere: there's only one more 800 to go! I run a full lap along with Frank, and we talk a bit.

4:23 - Somehow, I've done it. 10 800s, in spite of everything. 

Hey, maybe I should keep these things going?

Discomfort Zone

 Yesterday's post was all about getting out of a comfort zone. Today it's about getting into a discomfort zone. That means it's about speedwork, sometimes known as something of substance. More specifically, 10 x 800, sometimes known as Yasso 800s. Check out this semi-amusing post about the workout itself. 

Been a while... For track running (almost two months), for getting out and away from home (except for yesterday), and for really pushing myself for a prolonged period (except for some on the mill, which shouldn't count for as much). So discomforture was anticipated.

There was no disappointment on that front. Oh, the first seven or so 800s were decent enough. They were all in the 3:50s and 3:40s; only a little slower than last summer and fall. It helped that there were a couple other people at the track to keep one honest.

The time for number 8 was 3:50, which was still fine, but the writing was on the wall. Now alone on the track with two 800s to go, things suddenly got real. It was just a shuffling jog for numbers 9 and 10, as they were well over 4 minutes each. 

The overall average was 3:57. That's pretty good, considering. But those last two.....

How Low?

How low can I go? Two weeks ago, I averaged 3:40 for my Yassos. Last week, it was 3:39. Today? 3:37. Having said all that, it's getting pretty tough. One cannot keep improving forever. I think the answer might be to try something new on the track next week. Maybe mile intervals, or maybe something else.

My mileage appears to be a little on the low side as well as my times. But that's only because I'm no longer including walking mileage in my running log. When I started GVRAT, I thought I should include the walking to ensure that I can make the distance (1269 miles in 4 months). Now that the four months are nearly over (and I completed my overall mileage), I am trying to see whether I could indeed have done it without the walking mileage. Well, I can tell you that since I've kept the walking designated as such, I can say that I will have those 1269 running miles within another day or so.

I did receive my GVRAT 1,000 pin and BAT map,

Day 54: Buy 600, get 200 free!

01-200 - These are the free meters. It seems like I can run fast, yet not feel that I'm working too hard.
201-400 - Uh-oh. This $h!t is getting real. Very real.
401-600 - I am working way too hard. Have to slow down a bit, making this the slowest part. What other choice is there?
601-800 - It's tough, but I absolutely have to pick it back up. And I do. Hey - I can see the finish line!

Now repeat all that nine more times.

Today's Yasso track workout went well. The important thing is consistency, and you don't get that without sustainability. With all ten 800s between 3:38 and 3:48, I'll call this a good to great run.

Rainbow at the track today

Day 33: Ya, so it went fine

Been a while. I used to do Yasso workouts fairly regularly, especially leading up to some of my more successful marathons in recent years. A Yasso workout is ten half-mile intervals (10 x 800 meters). Here is some further information about Yassos from a previous post. And there have been other posts about it as well. Click here and here for a couple of the ones I'm sort of proud of.

I love everything about the track. And as of yesterday, the Medina tracks are OPEN again. It's been a while. And as mentioned, it's been a while since I've done a decent Yasso. (I have been doing some 1200s on the mill.) Today's workout was slower than some I've done in the past, but coming amidst all the high mileage and yesterday's tempo run, I'm right proud of it.

The only bad thing is that now I have to recover from these two consecutive tough workouts, and still get another ten miles in tomorrow. And the day after. And so on.

Anatomy of 10 x 800

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.