Why Am I Doing This Again?!

Today was the second speedwork day of my training plan so far. The first traning session was terrible. The track was covered in snow, so I had to do it on an unmarked path. I only had my Nike+iPod to help me. I had two big problems: (1) I miscalculated the distance and instead of running 800s, was running 750s, (2) I could not judge or calculate my pace -- it was all over the place! Using the timer on my iPod was too hard while running. Mistake #1 I can live with -- 50 meters -- no biggie. Mistake #2 -- well if you are running the speedwork "laps" at all different times, well, that kind of defeats the purpose! I think I was running them too fast because I couldn't even finish the last one. :-(

Well, luckily the track was clear today so I was able to do my speedwork there. I started with a mile warmup which was a breeze and then started my first 800 meters (1/2 mile) run. I had my trusty $10 Walmart watch to help me keep time and that worked WAY better. I had the goal time of 4:00-4:14 minutes per 800 in my mind. I hit my first one at 4:04. Not bad. It wasn't too fun though. I took a 400m recovery jog and tried my next 800 -- hit that one at 4:06 but it was tough! When I finished that 800, I didn't even think about it -- I automatically started walking after crossing the line! NOT in the plan! I let myself walk a little though, then started jogging again. Too make a long story short, I pushed myself through the next two 800 meter sets with times of 4:09, then 4:14. It was really hard and I had to use a lot of positive "atta girl!" self talk.

At one point, I actually thought, "What in the world am I doing out here?! Nobody else is here...I'm not training on a team so it's not like anyone is depending on me...And yet here I am, pushing myself through complete discomfort / mild agony to do what? Run faster? For who?!" I didn't come up with any obvious answers, except of course, "For me!" My husband and family could care less how fast I run an 800 in. They'd love me just as much whether I ran them in 2 min, 4 min or 10min! (And I am very thankful for that!) My friends, while supportive, could care less -- none of them really run. So again, why am I out here? I guess the answer, "FOR ME!" will have to suffice for now!