Running
So since I have so much time here in Japan, I've decided I really need to get back in shape. However, I never feel like running in the mornings. I always think to myself at night, "I'm going to get up and run in the morning." Since that never happens, I decided today (partially at Annie's suggestion) that I would run tonight to try and get things started. We'll see if the morning thing happens or if I just keep running at night.
So I went out at an easy pace to warm up. Probably 7-8 minute mile pace. I ran over a mile at this pace. At this point. I had run a couple laps around the track at the high school associated with the University (it's weird like that here. Universities often have high schools as a part of them). So those few laps, in combination with the distance it took to get there, added up to well over a mile. Probably 1.25-1.5 miles.
This track happens to be an awful track. It's the worst track I've ever run on. But I felt like doing some interval tempo type stuff because at the moment I have no endurance. The track is made of DIRT. It's just hard-packed dirt. Very slow surface, though quite comfortable and good for the joints. In this humidity, it doesn't get super hard and cracked; it stays relatively soft for a packed surface.
So I decide to pick up the pace for a mile and see what I can do. I move it up to a rhythm that feels fast, but not "shit...how long can I keep this up for" fast. I was aiming for 6 minute mile pace, with a hope that I'd manage a 5:45-6:00 minute mile time, which I felt would be a good pace to keep my spirits up for without completely draining me. It was going to be a short workout anyways. First lap comes around in 73 seconds. I think to myself, "That's awfully fast. I used to aim for that time in HIGH SCHOOL so I could break 5 minutes." I figured I'd gone out too fast and that this next lap would bring things back into perspective. I thought that I'd probably taken the first 150 meters too quickly and that at this point I'd settled back down to a good pace. It's been a while since I did anything timed like this, so my sense of pace is really out of whack.
Second lap comes around - the half way point - with a time of 2:30. "Uhhh...right..." is what I'm thinking. Next lap - 3:45. At least I'm consistent! Last lap, pushing it in, brings the total time for 4 laps at 4:55. So now I'm thinking, "Hmm...either I'm in MUCH better shape than I ever was in high school and can PR in the mile on a really fucking slow track, or this track isn't 400 meters long. After jogging a recovery, I ran a single lap as a test. The time came in at 50 seconds! Definitely not a quarter mile track. A 50 second 400 meter run with no training and having run a good 2 miles at the least beforehand? Not likely. I'm guessing the track is about 330 meters, give or take.
So yeah. Turns out I'm not in the best shape of my life. Felt good to do a real workout though. :-)
-Yoshi