Round and round she goes...

Last week I completed my first track workout for this training session. It had been a while since I had been on the track. There's this crazy thing we have in Pennsylvania between the months of November and April, maybe May, called winter. So with the early darkness and accumulation of snow, getting to the track was not going to happen. Last week was one where we got that sweet glimpse of spring. So the fam decided to take advantage of the beautiful evening and all go over to the track. I could get in a workout and the kids could get some much needed time outdoors. 

The workout I had on tap was 8 by 400 at 5k pace. So that is 8 laps around the track jogging a 200 in between running each 400 around 1:45. It was easy to tell that I hadn't done a track workout in a while. My first 400 was completed in 1:33...WAY too fast. So I dialed it back and completed all the rest in 1:42 to 1:44. The entire time I had a great cheering section that encouraged me on. It gives such a boost of energy for the last 100 of the 400 to hear the kiddos (well, Maddie) yelling out "Run fast Mommy!"

I love track workouts. Sure one of the main purpose is to work your fast twitch muscles, but there are other benefits too. Going to the track really helps give a change of pace to your everyday runs. Yeah, it is just going around in circles, but if you are lucky enough to have a group of people to run with or a running club, it's a social outing too. If you do most of your runs alone (like me), then it's really nice to have people to meet up with. It's also a way to help you break through those mental barriers. When you don't think you can push yourself harder or do another lap, you do it anyway. There is definitely a great feeling of accomplishment at the end. Maddie knows that Mom and Dad go out running on a daily basis. She usually just sees us leaving or getting back. It's nice for her to see Mom and Dad actually running. One of her favorite things to do is to velcro her running shoes and do laps around our breakfast bar/island and tell us that she is running on the track.