Thursday, September 17, 2009

That. Was. No. Joke.

Wow. 10 x 200 -- done. With moderate success.

But first, let me back up to earlier in the day. I had a follow-up appointment with my podiatrist who checked out my foot again and told me that, yes, I should have surgery. He doesn't like the fact that my toe has only about 10% of the mobility that it should have. Yeah, I don't like that too much, either. So, he recommends surgery. But, he's scheduling surgeries for December and January right now, which means that if I want to have the surgery this winter, I have to get on it.

Argh!

I have to give this a lot of thought. Right now, I'm leaning toward sucking it up for another year or so and considering the surgery for next winter. My orthotics are working well, keeping my legs and joints in line. They should slow the progression of my bunion so it might not get all that much worse over the next year. But, what if it does? I'd kick myself if I don't get the surgery this year and then end up hobbling around next spring/summer. Argh . . . such decisions!

OK, so that was the morning.

For my afternoon, I called upon my inner muthah runnah and ran the speediest speed I think I've ever run!

It was, as I wrote in my title, no joke. No joke!

I started with a nice warm-up and then sped up for a half mile. I recovered then sped up again for two 400s. They were all run slower than my target for the 200s and I think the gradual build up worked well for me.

After the two 400s, I broke it down and ran with focus, determination and -- most of all! -- speed. The first five weren't too bad. But, number six? Um, hmm . . . that one threw me off. I had to slow down at the end and I finished it in about :50 (rather than my target of :45). I was really bummed and my mind started to go into silly brain mode and think about how I was going to have to quit and that this was going to be yet another failure.

Fortunately -- or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it! -- I had to face the index card. As you may remember from last week, I just can't let an index card down. So I shook off the poor performance of the sixth repeat and got back to work.

I finished the next three repeats a bit slower than the first five, but I finished them strong, so I felt OK about it all. Then, I busted it for the last repeat and cooled down for a mile. Here's what my workout looked like:

1 mile @ 10:00
800 @ 4:00 w/400 rest
2 x 400 @ 2:00 w/400 rest
200s (w/200 rest):

  • 1-5 - :44-:46 (yay!)
  • 6 - :50 (boo!)
  • 7-9 - :48 (eh.)
  • 10 - :45 (yay!)
1 mile @ slooooooooow
Total: 6.25

Never have 6.25 miles made me feel so wiped out and yet so strong. It's true, I wanted to quit. Repeatedly. I kept thinking there was no way I could complete the workout, and yet I did it. I held on. I found a way to push through the dying feeling and get it done.

I was a foam rolling maniac last night and, today, my legs feel OK. Tired, but OK.

And now, this muthah runnah is off to be just mom. Have a great day!

~ Felice

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fantastic job, Felice! I'm so proud of you for sticking it out. And for going to be the mom (my favorite part of the day)...

So sorry about the need for surgery. How much time off running would you be looking at?

Felice Devine said...

Melissa -- It would be 3 months off of running! ACK!!!

Marlene said...

First, NICE job on that speed work. W-o-w. It is sooo tempting to quit during a workout like that, so way to stick with it!

Touch decision re: surgery. I have no idea what I would do. :S Good luck!

ShutUpandRun said...

Wow sounds tough. Great job. Sorry about the surgery, though.

Janice {Run Far} said...

tough workout... way to stick it out. I think I really need to get serious and start some speed work... I always just do what sounds good for that day.... ugh.. I hate speed workouts

B.o.B. said...

Look at you, you speed demon! Well done girl. Go be a mom and enjoy your day.

Keep us posted on the surgery of course. Sending you positive vibes for healing.

Aileen said...

Well you did it, so that's awesome! I'm sorry to hear about the surgery though. I'd be inclined to have it done and get it over with sooner rather than later. A lot of things can happen in a year!

Anonymous said...

Hi,
can you possibly discuss your foot situation? Im' a runner with bunions on both feet and I'm dreading going to a Dr. because I'm afraid he'll say I need surgery. So far, my strategy has been to ignore when they hurt and not wear uncomfortable or pointy work shoes. How did you know it was serious? How much flexibility does your toe have? What have you done to ward off surgery? Any thoughts would be really appreciated, and good luck making your decision. (I would probably lean away from surgery, just cuz it scares me and doesn't always seem to work).
-Sarah

X-Country2 said...

NICE! I need to start trying that index card trick. It's like a really cheap, quiet coach. :o)

Heather said...

That's one awesome workout! Way to go.

By the way, my sister has had that surgery on both feet - two separate years. Each time she recovered well and was able to get back into running relatively soon.

Quix said...

3 months no running? Eek. Well, I'd advise sooner than later, but I don't know if I'd take my own advice hehe.

Great job on those repeats! That's a lot of mileage. By the end of half training I was doing 10x400s, and I thought they would NEVER end. :P I usually like speed workouts but 5 miles of speed? No thx.

Chic Runner said...

YAY! Super nice job MUTHA RUNNA! you rock and doing those are really hard. I hated them in high school and have abandoned them now. ha ha :) Great job!!!

Stefan said...

well done

Unknown said...

comment from stefan was me - son had logged onto google with my computer and i just realized that i was signed on as him instead of myself. sorry

Mel-2nd Chances said...

so sorry that it was recommended that you get surgery, but that was an awesome workout!! great job!

Miz said...

damn.

just the being a MOM part of my workout is kicking my ass today.

and yesterday.

and the day before.

I NEED A RUN :)

Lindsay said...

way to work off the morning drama with a kick-butt track workout!

i'm sorry to hear about the surgery news. my stubborness would probably take the same side as you, putting it off, but you do bring up a good point about potentially hobbling next summer. could you ask the doc what the likelihood of that will be? worth a shot at least. the sooner you get it done, the sooner you can recover and get back to running (/life in general!). who knows, maybe it'll make you even faster! good luck...

I Run for Fun said...

What an awesome run, you speedster!

Sorry about the surgery. I am not sure what I would do. It is a tough decision. But you've suffered with this for a while now, so maybe this is your chance to get it over with, once and for all. Good luck with your decision!

Denise said...

That is exactly why I'm scared to go to the doc about my bunion. I do not want to take the time off to get it fixed. Since I Ultra training has been over, it hasn't been as painful. So I'm hoping to get a few more years out of it.

RunToTheFinish said...

can't let an index card down huh...maybe I need to feel more devoted to a sheet of paper so I'll run speedy like you!!

so sorry about the foot, that stuff is just no fun

Mel -Tall Mom on the Run said...

It is a TOUGH decision to have surgery, what is the recovery time like?

OMW...so I have tried a couple times to order my business cards.. I guess I need to have a template ready to upload...but there are no instructions. They have all kinds of pre-made templates but I am not sure if that is part of the Giveaway.. Anyhow very weird.. have you used the site?

Have a great weekend being a MOM.

Unknown said...

Wow, great running always beats surgery! So happy your run was fast!
Thanks for the kind words on my blog...you made me very "feliz." Now I get the title of your blog, Felice. Cute!
Thanks again!

RunnerMom said...

Ok, I'm getting a note card!

You are so strong! Good for you and your super-fast running!

joyRuN said...

Pushing through that dying feeling is phenomenal! It lets you know that you CAN for future reference :)

Awesome job!

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