Day 3.

Assigned Workout: Speedwork. 1 mile easy warm up, 6 X 800m @5K pace (2:30 recoveries), 1 mile easy cool down.

Morning Weigh In: 140.2lbs

Weather: 69 degrees. Is this even August?

Location: Mt. Trashmore, Virginia Beach

It's 4:30 am. I am so tired. But I have to get up this early to get to the venue for my coach's group run. The last group run I attended, he was supposed to run with me. I forgot to text and ask if he'll be there. Whenever he isn't at these runs I tend to get a little ignored. And managing 400's and 800's on a pathway around a lake is hard for me. They're supposed to set out cones. But they're never set up when I'm there. I prefer the high school track so I know my distances. But my coach does not like the track. He specifically says he wants me to stick to road or trail. I've never asked him why.

 I could set my watch to beep after 800's but that is beyond the scope of my ability right now. Maybe one day I'll look that up.

He's not there this morning, of course.

So I start my run. Sluggy start. After a mile I try to start my first 800. There are no cones to indicate where I am, I run hard for a bit, try to look at my watch in the pitch dark and I cannot see whether I've run a half mile or not. I squint at the watch while I'm gasping for air. It's a pain in the ass. And true to my form, I get grumpy and just keep running and say internally "eff this" and tell myself to run 5 miles at a faster pace than usual. There. There is your speedwork, dagnabbit.

If I were in one of my typical moods, I'd be horribly disappointed. Every run in this training process is supposed to have a purpose, and Ryan has reminded me several times that these "intervals" are the staple of my training. I essentially ran a tempo, which was not the goal for today.

But I am not going to spend time being upset about it. It is what it is, was what it was. I ran faster than the last couple of runs, so I worked on speed a little bit. I'll try again on Thursday. On a track. 

There really are some benefits of getting up before dawn, if you're obsessed with the sunrise and sunset like I am. It was a gorgeous morning. I must be getting old. I just gaze up at the sky and the cloud formations and it fills me with tranquility, peace, and grace. The feeling doesn't always last throughout the day, so in these moments I soak it in and breathe it, let it fill my lungs.

After the run I wet to the gym and attended my first spin and weights class in AGES. It was challenging enough. The instructor was new and not a toughie, but that's what I needed to break myself back in to the spin thing. Lots of bicep and triceps curls, and dips. Ugh!

Work killed me and didn't get home until 9 pm.

No yoga tonight, but I am stretching enough.

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