Timed Mile

I have been looking for some spice in my workouts this week so I decided to try a timed mile and see where i am at. I woke up at 5am, pulled on my pink shorts, gray tshirt and over-sized high school soccer sweatshirt. I waved to the dog as she eyed me oddly and got into my car and headed down to the high school track. They have been putting in a new turf feild where the football field is and once i arrived i noticed that the gates were all still closed. I was unwilling to admit defeat so i hopped the fence and started my two warm up laps. After the curve on the straightaway I could see there was something on the track. They were still doing construction and the "bridge" of sorts to allow for the construction vehicles to cross the track was still in place. It was about 10 feet wide and a foot up so i knew that i would have to step up and run over it in the mile. How lovely.

The first two laps were good - about a 3:10 time but i knew i could have gone faster if a) that stupid bridge thing hadn't been there and b) i could have seen my watch in the dark. I didnt even feel winded as I completed the first two laps. The second two laps were more intense and i finished in a time of 6:32. I know i can run faster than that as about a month ago i ran the first mile of the 3000m (in the summer track meets) in 6:26 and i was dying! It is very difficult having to step up onto a platform of sorts and run over it! Once i get back to school i will do more time trials to see how my training is progressing. After the mile i did 5 - 100m sprints just for good measure and to help me sort of cool down. I have found that especially in track its more important to cool down.

I just finished reading The Laminators blog about age and running. It really made me think...I have noticed in myself that I became a better distance runner after i turned 20. But i am not sure it totally has to do with my age. I know that some places it says that women peak in running between the ages of 21-25 but that doesnt seem right. Maybe because I didnt train as much in high school for running I wasn't able to run like i am now. Maybe its all about time and place and will power not necessarily age. Maybe its because now i have a desire in me that i didnt have when i was 17 or 18 to run fast and for a long time. Maybe its just luck in the sense of preperation meeting opportunity.

Of course one day i will reach a point where I cant run like i am now, and I cant force my body to run as fast but for now I am taking this opportunity to push myself and make the most of every moment. I will not sit back like I did in high school - I will run in Track aggressively because i have been given a second chance to make the most of the time given to me.