Summer Speed Sessions

Mark..The coach layin' out the game plan for the summer!

Jeff and Melissa. I met them Last year and now they are Engaged. I think they make a perfect couple!

Speed sessions have started back! Woo-Hoo! It can't BELIEVE it's been a year since I have seen some of those people. I had been dreading tonights work-out for days because it was the 2 mile time trial...and it was HOT as hell outside this afternoon. I drove out there with the usual nervous stomach and anxiety I always experience before a speed session. It's a love/hate relationship. I love it because of the friends I have made and the way I feel AFTER the work-out..but I hate it because I know it's gonna SUCK!.

When I pulled up there were already people circling the track warming up and I started getting excited. Clouds were starting to form overhead outta nowhere, but I was glad because the shade would be nice. As I walked up to the track entrance, who did I see??? Patrick!! I was thinking.."Yay!! Speed Sessions are gonna ROCK this year!" We usually all go hang out after we run and from some of the stuff I have read on Patricks Blog..he likes to party! This is the 3rd time in a week I have run into him. I also saw my friends Melissa and Jeff. Melissa is the chick dressed up as Wonder Woman over in the margin. She's a lot of fun to run with so I was glad to see her there.

We started our mile warm-up..and at about lap 2 the sky opened up and a hurricane came through complete with 100 MPH winds and deadly lightning. Ok..this is Tn..no Hurricane or 100 MPH winds..but still. Not running weather. So we all moved it inside and had our pre-work-out meeting there. After 20 mins the storm passed and we hit the track again to warm up. Then they divided us up into 2 groups. Over 15 min. and under 15 min. (I was in the over 15 min. group.) When the coach said "GO" I took off like a bat outta hell, and after the first lap I thought..YUP.. this is gonna suck, alright. I HATE time trials. If someone were to tell me to go run two miles..I'd say EASY! But there''s something about being timed and running round and round a track that gets to me. Every lap was a struggle. The first mile was 7:15. Too fast. There is NO WAY I can keep up this pace. I was running with Melissa's friend Mary Jane for most of the run and she was FAST. The last mile was a blur of pain and puke (Almost) but I kept sayin to myself.."One more..then we'll talk" So I would run one more lap..get it done, and I would tell myself "One more.." again. FINALLY I crossed the finish line in 15:28. And as hard as that was for me tonight, I was happy with it. Mary Jane finished in 15:07 because she started sprinting the last lap, and I couldn't keep up. But I appreciated her pacing me through-out the majority of the run.

The rest of the work-outs will be based on my time till the middle of the summer, then we'll do another 2 mile run to see where we are at. The target race is the Franklin Classic 5k/10k on Labor Day. I might be doing a half marathon on Labor Day in San Jose, though. We shall see. Either way I hope to get my 5k time down to the 22:00 range or better this year. I think I can do it. It'll be fun to try! (Not even) Whew.. I am glad that's over for the week!