Back on track

Last night marked my not-so-triumphant return after a nearly three-month, injury-riddled hiatus to the weekly Tuesday night gathering of my Reebok (soon to be who-knows-what) Boston teammates to take part in the collective ritual of self-masochism at the oval-shaped structure commonly associated with breakneck, lightning fast, it-will-kill-you-if-you-don't-have-it, speed. OK, that was a bit long-winded - not to mention mildly overdramatic - and to be perfectly honest, this potentially morbid affair didn't go all that bad.

Kevin's assignment for the evening was a relatively light one: 2K, 1200, 4 x 400 with 3-1/2 minutes recovery before and after the 12 and 90 seconds between the 4's. My mission was to hit 75-second pace on the 2K (6:15), 73's on the middle segment (3:39) and 70 for the one-lappers. Suffice to say, I failed miserably. Well, maybe miserably is the wrong word, but let's just say I didn't hit the agreed upon pace. Actual splits were: 6:11; 3:31; 67, 66, 68, 66.

So, I was a bit fast on just about everything, which has both its positives and negatives. On the plus side of things, the actual effort was akin to what I thought the prescribed times would feel like, so I'm encouraged by that. I was never straining at any point - 2K got the legs going, the 1,200 actually felt great and the 400s were more awkward than anything else - which to me was a mild surprise, but a welcome one nonetheless. On the other side of the equation, it's very apparent that my inner-pace clock needs to be recalibrated. I attribute it to a minor case of track rust, much like a boxer suffering from ring rust after a lengthy hiatus from the squared circle. I pride myself on having a fairly metronomic sense of pace and hopefully I can correct the problem fairly quickly as I readjust to running around in circles. Actually, I'm confident that I can, so I'll stop my speculating. Just gimme a few weeks.

But enough about me. Congrats to good pal and loyal blog reader Katie Gwyther who received a well-deserved at-large bid and is currently 13th on the depth chart for the women's 5,000 meters at the NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships that get underway next weekend in Sacramento. Bravo! After never having previously qualified for an NCAA Championship - cross country, track, individually or otherwise - this gal went 3-for-3 her senior year and pulled out an All-American certificate in the process. And she's not done yet! Word on the street is she's been beating on her training partner this spring as if he were a red-headed stepchild. Poor Driscoll, he had to come home and run with me for a week because he couldn't take it anymore. Those girls as Michigan don't stand a chance next year.

And speaking of not being able to take it anymore, I've been staring at this screen longer than I've cared to. But before I go, take my advice and check out this interview with Casey Moulton. Good stuff! Take it easy all.

Quotes of the day:

For me, running's my cup of coffee in the morning. It gets me going, gets me focused and puts me in a mood where I'm much more productive.
- Joan Benoit Samuelson

Running isn't really complicated to me. It's just about getting in consistently high mileage year in and year out, as well as having the drive to keep at it, especially during the tough times.
- Casey Moulton