Yet another rainy day today, this was good and bad. It was good because I was able to sleep in a bit since there was no morning walk, but bad because I had to stay inside all day. I had initially planned to hit up the beach and get rid of the evil sock tan that I have. I didn’t really notice it at first, but in the shower the other day it really came to my attention. I didn’t think I was getting much darker, but the almost white complexion of my feet told me otherwise. So I once again just relaxed, watched a couple movies and attacked my tight muscles with the tennis ball until practice time. There were a few sunny breaks throughout the day, and the temperature still stayed around 29 degrees, so overall it was still better then the weather back in Regina :-)
Today’s practice was a harder one, and as it rained throughout the day part of me was hoping practice would be cancelled. I had to remind myself though that I didn’t come down here to not practice. So I went prepared and packed an extra set of clothes and my rain jacket this time. There was no way I was going to be the stinky Canadian girl again today. It rained pretty hard the whole drive down to Shaw park, but once we got there it wasn’t too bad. It was misting a little but definitely bearable to train in. 500-300-300 was the damage to be done in today’s workout. I knew in my head what I needed to do, so the task now was to actually do it. 15 seconds every 100 meters for the 500, that seemed doable. As I changed into my spikes the rain started to come down and once again people fled for the stands for cover. I pulled out my jacket, I wasn’t going to let the rain stop me. I did a couple warm up strides, and I was ready to go. The rain had stopped once again so I knew I needed to go now before it started up again. I take off my rain jacket because I know it will just make me too hot, and probably slow me down too. I start walking down to the 100 meter start, for the 500, when all of a sudden I hear a loud ‘WHAAAAPP’. I flinch a little because I think there is something coming my way. There’s nothing. So I turn around to where I heard the noise come from and there is a huge brawl going down. I immediately stop, turn around and walk towards it. It was the group of girls and boys from the high school across the street practicing their March Pass routine. March Pass is like the color guard portion of the marching band. They have flags and they march and have a little dance in their routine. Well the flags in this group turned into weapons real quick. The guy and the girl going at it were using their flags like they were swords, and the girl was laying some really hard licks on the guy. At one point three other girls were trying to hold back the one girl that was fighting , but they were having no luck. It was like watching a Arnold in Kindergarten Cop as she dragged the girls trying to hold her back. Eventually the guy got outta there, mostly likely because he was getting his butt whooped, but not before getting one good open hand slap to the girls face. The whole time this is going down other people from the track team are watching and laughing. I guess fights like this are a common occurrence, not only at the track, but at school too!
After a little entertainment I regroup myself and make my way down to the start so I can get this workout rolling. The rain had still held back and I was ready to go. I start off really strong and at 400 meters I feel like I was making really good pace. Everything is where it should be and I’m not feeling to tired yet. At 450 its another story though, I feel like I took off too hard and I have nothing left in the tank. At first I think ‘well at least I only have to do one 500’, but first I need to get through this one. I pump my arms harder but it still feels like I’m going no where. I look for the finish line and it feels like its inching further away with every step I take. *BEEP* 1:21, not what I was looking for, 4 seconds off. I try not to get too down because I still have two 300s left. The 300s are to be done in 47 so I know if I can do them in that or faster I’ll still be somewhat happy with the workout. After a 15 minute break I feel fully recovered and ready to go. *BEEP* 44.11. I knew I’d be able to do it! One more left then the workout is in the books. None of the other track people are doing running workouts today so I’ll have to do this one all alone. Last time I was able to jump in with some of the guys and even though they weren’t really running with me, it still helped to push me. This time I was on my own, so I really had to dig deep. I knew I had run bad on the first one so I just told myself I owe it to me to make it up. The first 150 meter feel great, my knees are high, my shoulders are relaxed and I don’t really feel all to tired. Coming off of the last turn I feel the lactic acid in my legs and they start to feel heavy. I don’t let this get to me, I just stay strong. I continue to pump my arms, I’m trying so hard it feel like all my energy is going to my legs and the rest of my body feels like its getting cold. I tighten my abs, pull my hips forward and react quick off the ground. *BEEP* 45.02. Good finish Ese, good finish.
So even though the 500 wasn’t exactly what I wanted, I still finished off pretty strong. I’m still working on being able to run distances over 400 meters without falling apart. I know the more I do them, the easier they will become. With competitions not till April, I’m trying not to get too down when times aren’t exactly what they are suppose to be in practice. I know that by the time I leave Tobago I’ll be hitting those times no problem. So for now I’m going to try not to worry too much, and just try to enjoy myself while I’m here.
No comments:
Post a Comment