Sprinting and The Brain

Our brains, they’re funny little creations aren’t they! Or is it just mine?

While running yesterday’s speed repeats, which I totally rocked (unlike the previous week) it suddenly dawned on me that 200-metre repeats are essentially the equivalent of sprinting for 1 minute – just 1 minute – something I had been doing with my program since February, and yet, once my program switched from timed repeats to distance repeats, it was as though my brain could not comprehend such a task, causing my legs to rebel.

Last week, my legs wanted nothing to do with 200 metres. My lungs were gasping for air at just 50 metres in. My brain was saying just stop already, you can’t do this, you might as well give up. And a couple times, in my first sets of repeats, I did wimp out, cutting them short, or slowing my pace down.

So yesterday, instead of upping the distance as per my program, I opted to do the same set as last week. I wanted to make sure I could do it without wimping out. I wanted to make sure I was putting a quality effort in, not just a quantity effort.

And I don’t know, maybe it was the difference between this week’s sun versus last week’s monsoon, or the difference between the two locations, or the difference between a positive mindset and a negative one, but I tell you, it was like my legs were on fire. They swiftly soared down the stretch, my breathing was strained, but not heaving, and my vision was so clear, there were no imaginary demons sitting on my shoulder, telling me to quit. It was more like: “Go! Go! Go!”

Then I looked at my Garmin. Hmm. That was a minute, I thought. Hmm. I was doing minutes before, I recalled. Hmm. That brain, that silly, silly brain of mine, I chuckled 😀

The question remains, was MY brain Pinky or The Brain???

YESTERDAY’S SPEED REPEATS

  • 5:15 p.m. BG before: 6.4
  • Temp. basal: none (20 grams carbs (peanut butter and 3 crackers) 1 hour prior, no bolus)
  • Distance: 5.84 km; 10′ warm-up, 8×200 metre repeats with 1′ walk in-between, 10′ cool down.
  • Time: 37:01
  • Average pace: 6:06 min/km
  • Average interval pace: 4:14 min/km
  • Best pace: 3:00 min/km
  • 6:30 p.m. BG after: 4.8

Another awesome thing noted on that run: I have finally overcome the foot bruise of months earlier. Despite getting fantastic new shoes (Dear Brooks, I love you!) I was still suffering the aches of a foot bruise, and had to bandage the area up with mole skin, padded gauze, and sport tape, which, with the warmer weather, was causing friction blisters. So I decided yesterday to give it a go without the bandages, and I had not one second of foot irritation. Wahoo!

All in all, it was a great, great run… who ever thought I’d be saying that on a night of speed repeats???

pinkyrun
Hehe 😀

2 thoughts on “Sprinting and The Brain”

  1. Was your cadence high Miss Katie? Glad you are feeling better about them, we all procastinate and have days when they feel bad and good, but they do so much for your running and there is the motivation to do them! Good for you:-)

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