On the Job

It becomes obvious that one is not normal as soon as they decide that 8 hours of manual labor plus a speed workout is fun. It became obvious for me about an hour ago after I finished said workout with a smile on my face.
The day started at four AM when my father and I left the house for a four hour car ride to south Florida to install hurricane shutters (if you live in Florida and you want protection against hurricanes, we're your guys). This then followed with the actual installation of said shutters which turned into an eight hour ordeal as we wrestled with vegetation and hundred pound accordion shutters. Then it was an hour drive to the hotel where we ate dinner, my dad fell asleep, and I ventured into the night for some intervals.
How does a runner in the middle of an urban area with no access to an adequate running facility do repeats? Easy- do laps around the parking lot.
I took a walking tape measure (commonly referred to as "the wheeley thing") and a rock and chalked different marks into the asphault. It wasn't a MONDO track, but it would have to do
I have a tendency to not skip workouts, even when the circumstances would compel a "normal" runner to throw in the towel and vow to tack on makeup mileage in the next few days. It could be my determination, or my foolhardiness, or my naiveté; or most likely a combination of the three. Regardless of the subconcious mechanisms driving my modus operendi, the result was me jogging out 15 minutes in the pool before hitting the asphalt for a modified ladder.
The plan was for 3 sets of a descending ladder starting at 400 and ending in 100 (400,300,200,100) with a minimal recovery. The first set was spectacular (69, 49, 31, 15)! It laid groundwork for a progressively faster final two sets (67, 48, 29, 15) (65, 48, 28, 14).
I find myself feeling a complex myriad of emotions afterwards that range from pride to excitement. However, dwarfing them all is sheer exhaustion and the craving for sleep. Who am I to argue with my body?

The Workout: 3x(400,300,200,100) at (67-70, 49-52, 29-32, 14-16). Recovery was minimal and equated to about half the disance ran. Non-stop movement, jogging through breaks even during the 1:30 set break. 15 minute warm up and cool down.
The Purpose: To maintain and further sharpen the remnants of my track speed while working on maintaining a fast pace even when tired- hence the minimal recovery time. These workouts will make a fast 5k pace feel much easier.
Quote of the Workout: "Well, that was fun"- upon finishing the last one and slogging to my room like a zombie.

Escape from the heat.

For those who aren't familiar with the weather in the sunshine state (which should only be a scant 90 percent of humanity) it has been uncharacteristically warm. As in we have had next to zero rain and the usual solar intensity. Combine these two and you get a heat index comperable to the blazing sand plains in Dante's inferno.
Perhaps the heat encourages slight hyperbole- but not much. At 6:00, obviously far from the heat of the day, the heat index was 103. While I understand that it is probably even hotter at other places in America, as my father says, "hot is hot." I was lucky enough to have my television turned onto the local news outlets for other more... sensationalized reporting (I can't lie, "State of Florida v. Casey Anthony" is entertaining- and addicting! It's like a daily fix of crack cocaine). It took five seconds of watching the weather to realize that my normal 6:30 run time would be detremental to my planned 9 miler.
So I did what any "experienced" athlete does. Eat delicious homemade sloppy joes and wait until the mercury dropped to a reasonable temperature. By the time the temperature lowered to a reasonable level, and the sloppy joe's sufficiently digested, it was 10:00. I set out into the stary night and dimly lit street with my usual running partner opting to bike alongside me.
I started out at a moderate pace: 6:45 per mile. By 5k, I was averaging 6:28. The next 5k, I averaged 6:18. The last 2.8, I was flying in a 5:50 pace. I attribute the night and the cool conditions, but this was the best 9 miles I've ever ran. And I still had energy to burn. I can feel myself getting stronger every day, now I just need to put in the work.

The Workout: 9 miles at a challenging yet controlled pace. (6:13 was the final pace).
The Purpose: To experience a large aerobic effort while maintaining control. Building both total strength and "speed endurance"- the ability to maintain a fast tempo for long periods and still have a sense that more could have been called for. (Effort was conversational for 7 miles and each mile was faster than the last).
Quote of the Workout: "Dude, you're really hauling. You're actually making me peddle." - Training Partner to me during mile 8.