Today was my second Fleet Feet Speed Session. It went better than last week in that there was no timed mile or other obvious way for me to stand out as the worst runner out there. The class has grown to 150 people, which is A LOT of people to be on a track at one time, but again, it makes it easier for us slow pokes to get lost in the crowd, so I'm not complaining.
We get an email on Monday telling us what Tuesday's work-out is going to be. Luckily for me, I don't know the metric system, so getting an email about having to run four 1,000 meters didn't scare me like it should have. I thought 1,000 meters was one lap. Wrong! It's 2 & 1/2 laps. So four of those with a "rest jog" in between. And that's just the work-out, that's not counting the one mile warm-up, the drills, the two 200 meter sprints & the one mile cool down. When I got there, my friend Angie asked me if I read the email & saw that we'll be running six miles today. No, no I did not realize that. Note to self: learn the metric system.
Today was possibly the most I've exerted myself in my entire life. I'm serious. For those of you who don't live in Tennessee, it was already 80 degrees outside at 6:00 this morning. It's the hottest I've ever been & it's the most I've ever sweat. I've been dryer in the shower. Seriously. I was soaked. Also, I kind of think I almost died.
When it was time to run the four 1,000 meters, I ran the first 2 & 1/2 laps & did fine. I even passed a few people. Not bad. I opted to walk my rest lap instead of jogging it. When I stopped to walk, my stomach knotted up & I was pretty sure I was going to throw up. I didn't, but I also didn't run another 2 & 1/2 laps like I was supposed to three more times. I tried to run as much as I could, but the most I could do was run a lap, walk a lap or 1/2 lap. It was rough.
As I was walking, I kept thinking, 'Am I walking because I'm quitting or because my body is telling me to?' I kept thinking of all those Biggest Loser episodes where in the beginning the people are saying it's too hard & falling off the treadmill, etc. Today I realized I might not know the difference between stopping because I'm quitting or stopping because my heart's going to explode.
In other news, I asked one of the instructors today about my ankle & if it's common to sprain your ankle doing these speed sessions. He said it isn't, then he asked what happened & had me show him where it hurts. He said it didn't sound like a sprain, it sounds like tendinitis. Of course it does. Because it wouldn't be a paid-for, group training activity if I didn't develop something that ends in "itis".
I think new, better shoes will help a lot, but I paid $50 for this class, $50 for a Timex Ironman stopwatch & a good $30-$40 worth of outdoor (read: non-cotton) running clothes, so $130 for new shoes aren't really in my budget right now. If I can make it two more weeks, I'll buy some when I get paid again. God, this hobby is getting expensive......