Breaking the Law, Living on the Edge

25 min. w/u (3+ miles)
Target: 25x400m @85 secs. w/60 sec. rest
Actual: 86, 85, ~7 min. jog, 86, 84, 83, 85, 84, 85, 85, 85, 84, 86, 85, 85, 83, 83, 84, 84, 83, 84, 85, 85
18 min. c/d (2+ miles)
Total: 12 miles

I mean, why must everything be difficult? All I wanted to do was go to the track, run a few laps, mind my own business, and get on with my life. Things started to go awry early on when I discovered that every gate I'd ever used to enter the Grady track was padlocked. Being the resourceful gal that I am, I did find one entrance that opened onto a ramp that led to the bleachers, which I proceeded to run down and then hop over the wall onto the track. I had no sooner finished my second interval when I noticed the police officer standing on the other side of the fence and motioning me to come over. Long story short, my presence was no longer welcome there.

At this point, I had few options available. I could cry about it (which I did, literally, but only for 2.7 seconds), I could jog around and turn this into a distance run, or I could run over to the AO and attempt the workout on the gravel surface. None of these sounded ideal, but I was determined to get in a quality run, so off to the Oval I went.

To be honest, this whole debacle threw me off my game both physically and mentally, and my attitude was pretty piss poor as I jogged through the park. Once I reached the Oval, the workout started out shaky but I finally found a rhythm. I gotta be honest though, the gravel surface felt so slow after being on the track and it was frustrating to feel like I was literally spinning my wheels the whole time. By the time I got to 20 (22 total), I was pretty much done. I think the frustration of transitioning from the track to the oval caused me to push too hard too soon, and I wanted to end on a positive note instead of straggling home on the last few. Also, the humidity was so ridiculous that I was actually wringing sweat out of my shorts after each interval...lucky you, now you can enjoy that visual for a while.

All things considered, I deem this workout a success. I kept the rest at no more than a minute (barring the 7-minute jaunt between #2 and #3), and I felt strong and in control throughout. Now I just need to find another place to do track workouts, I suppose. And a new pair of shorts.