Well my run test was today, and heavy thunderstorms had been moving through the area for the past 18 hours so I assumed as I went into work that I'd be doing my run in wet conditions. However, as I monitored the weather throughout the day, I was happy to find that the last storms passed through around 3:30, and it would be partly sunny the rest of the evening. Not too bad, or so I thought.
I did a quick warmup and didn't really take into account the environment too much. I was just too excited about getting a run test in as well as being done with work for the week. I put on some angry music on my Ipod, and off I went. The first quarter mile of the route I do (2.6 miles total) is the flattest stretch and I was floating along. Unfortunately, it wasn't too long after that, probably around the 1/2 mile mark I realized I hadn't taken the humidity into account and had gone out too fast. I was going to be suffering for the next 2.1 miles. Needless to say, it was a very depressing thought.
I labored through the next 1.1 miles sweating profusely and feeling extremely overheated and only looking for the next .25 mile mark on the ground thinking about when it would all be over. By the time I saw I had 1 mile left, my stomach was hurting and I couldn't figure out if I wanted to get sick or pass out. But seeing I was on the last mile, I just slowed my pace a little and used it to remotivate myself to push a little further. As I hit the next .25 mile mark, I had all but convinced myself I was going to stop at the .5 mile to go mark and forefeit the test. However, when I got there I just passed on by, thinking that even though it hurt, it wasn't forcing me to stop. I came over the top of the last hill sure I was getting ready to pull up and quit, and I could see the overpass I pass under just before the finish and all of a sudden I felt like I could breathe a little easier. The next thing I knew I was increasing the pace and had less than a .25 mile to go. As I passed under the overpass, the pain made one final massive attack to take me down, but I was too close and was able to fight through it and get to the finish.
After walking it out and catching my breath I checked out my time. Just as I suspected, slower than last time, but not by much...or was it. After a slow mile cooldown, I drove home convinced I hadn't seen improvement, and began logging my workout...
Here's the numbers:
Distance: 2.6 miles
Time: 17:28
Pace: 6:43/mile
Turns out, I dropped basically just over 1 minute from my overall time on the first test. I was shocked. All the pain was definately worth it. And what's more important, I did it in the humidity, which in Ohio is something I am going to have to deal with as the weather warms up. Obviously I was more than pleased. I improved on all my legs in the past 4 weeks and still have plenty of speed work coming. Now on to Base 2.
Finally, in other exciting news, I got home today to find out my new Xterra wetsuit has arrived. It's my first one, ever. Awesome...more updates soon
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