Comfortably Hard

Track workouts are supposed to feel "comfortably hard". That's an interesting way of phrasing it, because repeats on the track actually take you out of your comfort zone and push you. Sometimes track workouts are anything but comfortable. Usually they are hard and sometimes they are really hard. However, approached with the right attitude, they truly are comfortably hard - hard enough to know you are doing the work. The comfortable part? By the time the goal race arrives, the track workouts allow you to step up to the starting line comfortable in knowing that you are prepared.

This morning at 5:32 AM I stepped onto the Illinois Wesleyan University track for my first speed workout of the season. I haven't done speed workouts on the track for two years, because of my focus on Ironman training. This year, however, in addition to the 1/2 Ironman event in August, I am running the St. George, Utah marathon in October. I have two goals for that marathon - the first is to obtain a Boston Marathon Qualifying time and the second is to run a sub-4 hour marathon. Both of those are realistic and attainable goals. And both will involve some hard work.

When I qualified for Boston before (2004 Boston), I spent countless hours on the IWU track during the summer before my fall marathon to qualify. I typically did speed workouts twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I loved those workouts - especially when they were finished. I always felt like a "real runner" once I stepped onto that track.

This morning was a misty, drizzle-filled morning. I wasn't sure what kind of shape I'm in, or if I would be able to complete the workout my coach provided. The workout called for a 2-mile warm-up, followed by 6 x 800 (1/2 mile) repeats with 2 minutes rest (jogging) in between. The goal is to run each of the 800's at approximately the same pace. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I ran each repeat about 10-15 seconds faster than my workout called for and my pace didn't vary more than 4-5 seconds per repeat.

I did my cool-down and left the track feeling tired but happy. It feels good to be back on the track. It feels good to begin the work to obtain the goals I have for this year's running.

If you are reading this and are not a runner, you may be wondering what, if anything, this has to do with you. Everything! One area to explore the "comfortably hard" workout is in a track workout. What other areas of your life are you holding back? Going at a pace that feels comfortable, or perhaps, even complacent. Where is the place you could step up the pace and push beyond your normal pace?