Lochside Trail/Track

I’ve completely abandoned getting in any track workouts this spring. The only way I could make it happen would be to head out after the kids are in bed, and although possible the idea of running intervals at 8:00 p.m., alone, is less than exhilarating.

And so with the tracked no longer a (viable) option, I had to improvise twice this week to accommodate some interval training. Wednesday called for a 1,500m TT, nothing terribly fast but a little something to introduce some speed. After jogging home from work I passed our house and trotted down the path to the beginning of the Lochside Trail. There is a post just down the corridor from where I live, but unfortunately the subsequent post was removed last year. After a quick search though, I found the slight depression that now bodes as a kilometre mark.

I jogged on the spot for a bit, waiting for a cyclist to pass before launching down the trail. My goal was a 5:09 1,500m. The words ‘slightly desperate’ best describe the following 1,000m, which quickly turned to ‘frantic’ I split the first 1,000m in 3:25. Although on pace, my perceived effort had me running 10” faster. I’m an idiot. At that moment I struggled to tune out he negative self-talk, and instead focused on the following 105” until my watched beeped 5:09. I don’t remember 1,500m ever feel so uncomfortable. What I do recall quite vividly is running 10x800 on 2:34, seemingly backwards and having it feel far more enjoyable. The mind is a cruel mistress.

Fast-forward a few days, and I was back down on the trail this time running a 5k TT. Again, nothing terribly fast (approx. 18:56) but a foundation to build some speed upon over the next month. With the wind howling and no feedback for 1,000m I misjudged the opening segment but quickly settled into something… reasonable. The challenge with the trail is that the markers aren’t entirely accurate, but do average out over a longer distance. Although the middle piece was slower than expected I suspect the previous kilometre was short: 3:29, 3:41, 3:53, 3:48 & 3:44 totalling 18:35.

Perhaps more important than both these sessions was the fact that this week marks the first time in almost three months where I didn’t feel under the weather. With the TC 5-weeks away, I’m cautiously optimistic. The photos are random shots along the Lochside Trail, the blue sky snapshot taken under much warmer conditions.