Back on (Grady) Track

AM: 4 miles
PM: 15 min. w/u (2 miles)
Target: 8-12x400 in low 80s w/1 min. rest
Actual: 82, 80, 80, 80, 80, 80, 80, 80, 79, 79
16 min. c/d (2 miles)
Total: 6.5 miles

Today was super busy from a real life perspective, and the daylight almost got away from me before I headed out the door for my afternoon workout. I guess the Atlanta weather is trying to prove a point or something, because temperatures were in the mid 60s this afternoon and I was comfortable--warm, even--in short sleeves and shorts. An alternate title for this post could've been "Outrunning the Storm," as the wind was picking up and the sky looked pretty dangerous when I was jogging my warmup. As everyone knows, I tend to melt in the rain, so I was really hoping to get this in before the downpour started.

Oh, and I can't believe it took me until the second paragraph to mention the most exciting news of all: I ran at Grady High School track AND didn't get kicked off! Up top. I seem to have a knack for being unceremoniously evicted from high school tracks--both on the east coast and the west coast--so today's uneventful experience was a refreshing departure from the usual.

As for the actual workout, it went pretty well. Unlike last Tuesday's intervals where I felt frantic and out of control the entire time, I felt pretty smooth and restrained throughout. Jeff had advised I do 8 to 12 repeats, and after I finished #8 I told myself if I ran the following two under 80 seconds that I'd call it a day. If not, I'd make myself do the final two. Whether laziness or determination was the real motivator, at any rate I clocked just under 80 for #9 and #10 and was happy to peace out. My foot is a bit tender after spending the entire workout on my toes, but I'm not too worried about it. I'm still wearing trainers despite wanting to get back into the T5s and I'm hopeful that will pay off in the long run. All in all, a solid workout and confidence builder for this weekend's relay.