Wednesday, August 12, 2015

A lot of times the marathon is a lot of things planned for, but often it is a lot of things unplanned for.  That's why it's good every now and then to have to make an in-run adjustment or deal with a situation that is out of your control.  It helps to keep you on your toes and ready for that moment when, inevitably, something will begin to go wrong.  It helps to build the mental strength to overcome the adversity, no matter what that adversity or situation may be.

Wednesdays are interval days and today called for 4-6 Yasso 800's.  *Note: yesterday I wrote that I had to run 4 but after I posted last evening I double-checked my schedule and realized it was 4-6. With family in over the weekend for an extended four-day visit, my sleep schedule has been a bit erratic, so I awoke with plenty of time to get going, but somehow found myself up against a time crunch as I moved around the house at a snail's pace.  So I decided I would do five Yasso's after my normal 2-mile warmup at a light jogging pace.

Week 6 intervals would be thrown a curve, however, as I entered the track a few minutes past 6:00 a.m. and saw that the Parkside Rams cross country team had commandeered the track.  Realizing I needed to make a quick decision, I turned back and decided I needed to improvise.  After running what I felt was an approximate 800 meters, I realized that right nearby the track is a neighborhood that has a large oval outer road that I often run on as part of my regular running routes.  So I decided to head over there and map the oval to stick with a track-like feel at a minimum.  To my surprise, the loop measured as an almost perfect 800 meter circle (probably about 795 meters).  After doing the first lap there and having realized the actual distance of the loop, I was able to focus on the intervals themselves instead of watching the GPS on my Runmeter app.

Just like my experience on Sunday my workout seemed to fly by because of the variety added to the workout.  It was a speed session not on a track, but also in a location that was not heavily traveled and was a perfect substitute for an actual track.  As I was enjoying the variety I couldn't help but think to myself that variety is truly the spice of life.  That, and the fact that today called for what will be known moving forward as some improVINCEation.  From the looks of it, I may need some of that tomorrow too if the WBOC-TV forecast is accurate.

Run on...