1500 season

I did my first track workout of the summer tonight. It was pretty short and pretty slow, but it was a good re-integration to that sort of thing. 4x400 in 69,72,71,72 with 200 recovery, then 4min, then 4x200 in 32,33,34,32, also with 200 recovery. The first 200 was actually 31.8, so it was nice to see that I still have some wheels. I subscribe to the Steve Boyd theory that the speed is there, and you just have to work on the endurance. That is, if you can run one 200 in 31, then you can run a 1500 that fast, if you work on your endurance. I will probably have to work on the speed end a bit, too, though. Ok, let’s be honest I have to work on it a lot. I think I can get down to doing 200s under 30 pretty soon. Not sure what that will mean for 1500 pace though.

First race is likely to be at McGill on May 30th, a 3000m. Should be a good transition from the marathon, and hopefully I can go much faster than my 9:24 of this winter. My goal for the summer is to run 1500 under 4min. 3:59.6, to be precise—Harold’s outdoor PB. I gotta get something faster than that guy! His 3000 is 8:33, which seems a stretch for the short time-frame I have before I open up, but we’ll see. You never know.

The thing is, this is going to be my last kick at the can, I think. Everyone seems to be in denial about it but me, though. Leslie doesn’t believe it. François just laughed. It’s going to be fun having a coach this summer, and hopefully getting some workouts in with Julien and Debardi, but I can’t see myself training the way I have for the last couple years anymore. Two marathons and two world championships in year and a half is a lot. I need to take a break, at least, from training. Realistically, with law school in the fall, I’ll just run a bit with Concordia, but not really train for anything. Next summer, I’ll see if I want to get back into it, but I don’t know if I want to invest that kind of time anymore.

I spoke with Jay about the running/identity thing. It’s tough to shake it. Part of my identity is that I am a runner. I still will be, I suppose, just not as fast. I will still coach the school and Boreal (until the fall at least). I have always said that coaching gives me just as much, or even more, satisfaction as running does: I’m just so blown away by what Chrissy’s been able to do in two years. Sofiane is going to be a monster in the fall. I am really happy when Laura tells me she feels strong before her marathon. I still have yet to see Claudine qualify for Boston, but man, when she does it is going to be awesome. Maybe this is living vicariously, and also, I know that my contribution to their success is much less than their own, but still seeing them succeed is really great. So I can still keep running as part of me, without having it take over, as Jay put it.

The thing is, after recovering from the marathon, I feel like I’m coming out of a bit of a fog. It may be that it is spring, but I feel like I have so much more energy now that I’m not running two hours a day (duh!). I kind of like having this much energy. It is nice to be able to go to bed late and not feel shattered the next day. It’s nice to be able to have a beer or eat crap once in a while.

The 1500 stuff is fun, and I think that since I’m so far ahead aerobically, I can make the transition, do workouts for 6-8 weeks, and maintain my base with very little mileage. This will let me get some biking and swimming in (for Ste. Agathe in August), and rest the legs a little. The plan is going to look something like this:

Monday: weights, then tempo with Concordia
Tuesday: easy run
Wednesday: weights, then track workout on my own, also a long bike ride in the evening to Boreal.
Thursday: off (long day at Concordia especially after a late night coaching)
Friday: track workout at Etienne-Desmarteau
Saturday: easy run and/or swim with Char and/or bike ride with Sean/Amélie
Sunday: long run (90min max! Haha, that’s not a long run at all!)

So, five or six days or running, no double runs (though some double workouts if you count the weights). It’s almost like normal exercise. Gasp! Ok, not really.

I’m very excited about the weights. I think Liz has put together a good program for me. I was happy to have exceeded her expectations in the rowing test this week. She figured I’d pull 2:30 for 500m, and I managed 1:53. It’s about mental toughness. When I saw I was averaging 1:55 for the first 20 seconds or so, I didn’t want to slow down. If I hadn’t had the average pace there, I might not have done it, but really, two minutes of rowing is not a lot. I have to try to get better every time though, so maybe I should have dogged it a bit! (Maybe I did! I think I can do better.)

I’m going to see Julie on Tuesday about my back. I am going to have to face the music. I probably should have gone a long time ago. Oh well. Hopefully between her and Liz, I’ll get things straightened out. The good news is that it seems to hurt less when I run fast. Not sure why that is.

Bring on the 1500. It’s going to be a fun summer.