What's That Smell... Childhood

Day 99

Boston Qualifying Training. Track Day! I wake the first time at 2:45 AM and roll over with hours top sleep. I wake the next time and I still have 45 minutes to go. I am like a kid on Christmas Eve, after all it is TRACK DAY. My alarm goes off and I am out of bed in a flash. Dress and ready to go I head downstairs. The Christmas tree smells great, it brings back a hundred memories of growing up as a kid and I smile as I leave the house.

Stepping outside I immediately know I am over dressed. It is warm, like 50 degrees warm. I am happy for the good weather. We certainly paid for this good weather early in the training with more training runs in the rain then I had ever experienced before.

Running from LTF, we talk about our jobs and business, we talk about the T-Day run our friends had, they all had rocking times. Arriving at the track we do our warm up lap and set up our markers.

With the splits written on my hand, I take the first 1K, with the goal of 4:03 and the first 200 meters is targeted at 0:49. I start us off slow, we hit 0:52, followed by a 2 second decrease per 200, we end at 4:00 even, 3 seconds fast. Good. Jay is next, we are fast out of the gate and end with a 3:54, 9 seconds too fast, but reasonable. I hit 4:00 even again and Jay is better on his next one with a 3:57. The last 1K, I am dead on the first lap, 0:49. I drop a second every 200 and on the last 200 we speed it up just for fun. A cool down lap and we are back to LTF. All too easy. A good confidence builder.

Jay and I run into Ann Marie while stretching, she is giddy about her new bike and rightfully so an all carbon fiber bike, she and others hit a 38 mile ride on Saturday, the bike sounds fast and smooth. I think about my steel bike held together with duct tape and think, maybe next season.

She shares the great race everyone had on Thanksgiving, clearly we are all peaking at the right time.

Swim tomorrow will be 2600 meters and done. I will not over do swim these last two weeks. I may hit some easy weights, core and stretching at lunch but nothing insane. This will be more a mental workout than physical.

I am home in time to put Wil on the bus and spend time talking with Jack before he leaves for school. Kim and I share a few moments together before we both head our separate ways for the day. Work will keep me busy. I am happy for such a great family, they have been so supportive of my training. I am a very lucky guy.

Weight, 178. Not bad considering my last meaningful workout was Thursday. I’ll be smart about my food intake and try to keep myself active today.