VT Dad’s fight vs. inertia & flab

After having a 2 day respite from running, I was chomping at the bit.  This morning the local roads were still icy, so I decided to wait until the afternoon, and run in Montpelier while my kids were at music lessons.  It was 22F, -6C when I started my fartlek run.  It was clear and calm, and ideal conditions for my run.  It was moments before sunset when I started my run, and I navigated through the sidewalks of Downtown Montpelier, past the state capitol, and out of town along the Winooski River.  The sidewalks were not 100% ice free, so I knew to stay on the street when I returned in the dark.  

My run is a flat out and back, about 3.2 miles each way.  When I do this as a fartlek run I usually try to have three sustained bursts on the outward leg, and try to just push myself on the way back aiming for a negative split for my return.  As soon as I got out of town, I began my first fartlek burst.  I felt fast and care free, it felt wonderful.  My form and cadence have been improving, and each of my other 2 fartlek bursts were joyful expressions of running.  

I reached the turnaround 29 seconds faster than my previous best for this run, so it was time to focus and concentrate, in an attempt to push myself as much as I could during the return.  Again the Roots "Sacrifice" was pulsing through my brain.  "Tell you one lesson I’ve leaned, if you want to reach something in life you ain’t going to get it unless you give a little bit of sacrifice.  OOh sometimes you got to smile before you cry, you need a heart that’s filled with music if you use it you can fly."  I kept sacrificing, and pushing myself, returning 13 seconds faster than my outward leg, and 40 seconds better than my previous best for this run.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 6:46 pm and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.