Palm Springs High School Workout

AM: 30 mins. ellip.
15 mins. core/stretching
PM: 20 min. w/u (2.5 miles)
Target: 6x800 @2:45 w/2:30 rest
Actual: 2:46, 2:47, 2:44, 2:44, 2:42, 2:37
16 min. c/d (2 miles)
Total: 7.5-8 miles


Won't be seeing these again for a while...

Well, kids, we've pretty much reached the end of the line. Tomorrow morning we depart our desert paradise and return to the frigid and barren tundra that is Charlotte. With that in mind, Jordan and I couldn't think of a better way to spend our last afternoon here than working out in the warm sun with the San Jacintos as our backdrop. Just after 3pm we laced up the boots and set off in the direction of Palm Springs High School, hoping to find the track open and relatively quiet. Our fantasy was rudely interrupted when we rounded the corner and saw that every man, woman and child between the ages of 5 and 45 had decided to utilize the cinders and the infield. I'm exaggerating, of course, but in reality I would say there were about 100 kids from neighboring schools scurrying around playing soccer and "running" on the track. Those of you who know me know how I absolutely adore children....Needless to say, the heavenly workout we'd envisioned was en route to becoming a little piece of hell before it even began.

Like last week's workout, Jordan planned to attempt a longer sustained effort while alternating between his fast sections and my fast sections (which, as always, were his slow sections). Also like last week, the plan worked out relatively well, save for a few close calls with the aforementioned kiddos. There were several times when I screamed "WATCH OUT!" at the top of my lungs in hopes of alerting one of the youngsters who was in our path (I didn't even kid myself into thinking that yelling "track" would register as a coherent message in their small brains). Somehow they always managed to dart away at just the last moment, but there were a few close calls. You would think they might be at least vaguely alarmed by the sight of a shirtless and sweaty Mexican barreling toward them, but then again we are in Southern California so perhaps they see that kind of thing every day.

At any rate, the workout went fine. My first few intervals were slow enough to help me ease into the groove, and by the third one I was clicking along. I didn't really have to press until the final effort, but in the end I was pleased with how strong and controlled I felt throughout. (Note: If you see that some of the splits are slightly different on Jordan's blog, it's because he was taking splits at the half mile and I was taking them at the actual 800m mark. It only made a second or two of difference, but when you're as out of shape as I am right now you'll take every second you can find.) It's a shame we can't stay here for, oh, another few months or so. I might actually be fit by then.