Day 79: Speed Racer

Unlike Maverick and Goose, I don't have the need. The need for speed. Nor do I have the need for homoerotic volleyball grudge matches / eye sodomy, but that's neither here no there. The truth of the matter is, in training for the marathon, the time in which I finished was never on my mind as much as the physical shape I'd be in when I finished - mainly alive vs. dead. 


However, that all started to change when I realized that my potential marathon running buddy, Heathaaaa, was clocking in at solid, if not spectacular 9-ish minute mile. Heathaaaa and I would like to start this race together - after all, she is Jilly's cousin, and we are both part of the completely-made-up-but-still-incredibly-important Ed's Team for Fred's Team. All of our friends and family (shared and otherwise) would be cheering for both of us at mile 9 and again at mile 18, wearing our commemorative t-shirts, as we had in the years passed. However, I was currently testing the limits of our we're in this together mentality by running about 2 1/2 minutes slower than Heathaaaa. That would mean our fans would have to get wait about 30 minutes after she passed to cheer for me in Brooklyn, and then make it up to the Upper East Side in time to spot Heathaaaa dash by, and still squeeze in time for a few pre-ceremony brews. Clearly, I was going to have to step up my game.

To be honest, because of my time's not an issue training mentality, I hadn't given much extra thought to the Tempo workouts my trust running guide was telling me to do on Wednesdays. I wasn't convinced that sprinting for 2 - 10 minutes at a clip would be the best thing in the world for my already fragile ego body. When you ready yourself for slow and steady, kicking it up to an 11 is just about the last thing you can wrap your mind around.

But this Wednesday was different. I had to give this "running fast" thing everyone was talking about a whirl. I needed to run 10 minutes at a fast, yet comfortable pace and then slow down for 1 minute and kick it back up for another 10. No problem.

The first thing I realized was, ironically being the revelation came nearly 3 months into my training for the NYC Marathon, how out of shape I was.  By this point, I probably should've been able to run a mile at a clip, but it was difficult to keep myself on pace as I set the treadmill for a 10 minute mile.

The second thing was that I finally understood, after seasons of treadmill breakdowns on The Biggest Loser, what was so scary about going fast. All I kept thinking about was that the entirety of my 200 pound frame was moving very quickly - what if I slipped? What if I lost my footing and took out a row of eliptical-minded cougars? Were there any children around to break my fall? It's all very scary.

In the end I completed the 2 sets of 10 minutes, and was able to keep myself on a pace I as comfortable with, but I was a long way from keeping up with Heathaaaa.


The Breakdown of the Day:


The Workout:

The Picture:

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