Friday, February 19, 2010

Speedwork FAIL

Today's scheduled run (well, Wednesday's scheduled run, but who's tallying, here?) was supposed to be more dreaded speedwork, specifically 6 miles with 3 mile-long intervals of 9:48, with 1/2 mile "jogs" in between.  Well, that didn't happen.  My first mistake, and probably the fatal flaw, was that I had Tom drop me off away from home.  That, in itself, no big deal, but I forgot my damn inhaler and only realized it once we were off and it was too late.  O Well, thought I, this'll be a decent experiment to see if my (strictly exercise-induced) asthma has gotten any better.

One word answer: FuckNo.

Now 9:48 is superduper fast for me, in fact I don't think I've ever really run that fast for more than a minute or two, certainly NOT a mile, but it's what my plan calls for and sure, I'll give it a shot.  First mile? 9:32, baby, 9:32.  Yay! says me, I'm a RAWKstar!  It was a really hard mile, but I did it!  Stopping to take a sip of congratulatory water, I soon dissolve on the side of the road and become a wheezy, coughy, phlegm-producing mess.  That fast.  I pick myself up and continue on for the 1/2 mile jog, but even that's not easy, even at a comfortable 12:30 pace.  Even at a walk.  So the 1/2 mile passes, and I try for the next interval, psyched 'cause it's downhill, I can do this!  About 3/10 of a mile passes, and No, I cannot.  I drop down to a more reasonable pace, and pretty much I can't do that either.  It's not that I couldn't breathe, per se, but more like the air I DID breathe wasn't feeding my muscles.  Just -- no gas.  I plodded on in fits and starts for another mile or so, to a total of 3.3, and called it quits.  I could see no point in "soldiering on" when I could not maintain a run of any pace for more than a tenth of a mile or so.  It felt like I didn't really even have a choice.

On an altogether different note, I solved another problem, namely freezing my ass off in the beginning mile of a run (temps in the 30s, me in shorts and tank, comfortable once I get started) -- armwarmers.  I borrowed a pair of Tom's, and they totally kept my arms, uh, warm.  A mile in, I whipped 'em off and tied them to my waist belt.  Eureka!

I came home, semi-changed, and headed off to yoga.  Ah, yoga . . . I am really falling in love with you, all over again.  I can almost feel my body healing with every move.  That's sumthin' else.

So, I accomplished previously uttered goals.  I cleaned up a bit, shopped, cooked something tasty, managed a run, and yoga . . . the run may have been a FAIL but the day turns up as a WIN.

Ah.

Now, off for some Olympics.

4 comments:

Lisa said...

Ok, that's scary. Maybe you should get a SPI belt or an iFitness belt (Google them) and put your inhaler in it.

Marathonman101108 said...

Hey, I like Lisa's idea! Well, we can't always "Pass," can we? Shorts and a tank top in 30 degree weather?! I'm impressed at how you can do that! Funny how the armwarmers solved your "freezing my ass off" part of your run. Maybe you should invent "asswarmers." I've started doing yoga myself, and although I'm as flexible as a piece of concrete, I ♥ yoga.

Bootchez said...

Well, I run with a belt, with lots of pockets, and could easily stash the inhaler in there. Think I do? That would be too easy, wouldn't it? I'd rather cough up a lung on the roadside, apparently.

funderson said...

geez..I know your pain. I only occasionally need the inhaler, therefore I rarely if ever take it with me and boy do I regret it. Trying to run when you can't breath is the worst.