Raindrops on noses

Woke up in the morning with quite a headache. Maybe my head was cold (I sleep with a nearby window open) or maybe it really was that one beer I had the night before, but I certainly didn’t feel like running. Probably just dehydrated. So running had to wait until evening, which meant postponing my usual Monday weights. Of course it was poring rain at the time I was ready to go, but what they heck. After rowing, a little rain won’t scare me. I did my beginning interval workout again. This consists of 2 minutes at about a 7.5-8 minute mile and then 30 seconds at what I’m hoping is a sub 7 minute mile. I still need to do it on a track to get my rates right, but regardless, the 30 second interval is a much faster pace. The faster pace actually feels pretty good. I have to really concentrate on staying relaxed at the faster pace or I get jerky. It also makes me lift my legs a little higher with a more fluid motion that feels really good when I get it right. Cardio at the higher rate feels OK to, just can’t sustain it for long right now. I plan on changing the interval weekly, but not sure how it will escalate yet. Since the pentathlon running event is only 4000m, I’m not too concerned about building endurance. I know I can run up to an hour with no problem, but I plan on reducing my mile time over the approximately 3+ mile course I am running right now. The intervals have also pushed up what I call my ‘steady state’ (a rowing term) running times too. The times seem to be just the right combination of challenge and steady state now though.
Got a message back from Craig Ballew regarding homecoming. He’s still in Korea so can’t make it but we had a short email discussion about VanWert (our high school history teacher) passing away. VanWert had really had a profound effect on us all, we just couldn’t appreciate it at the time. As I approach my 30th birthday, I find myself looking back on that time and realizing how much of me was really formulated back then. Since I wasn’t a big athlete in high school, VanWert was the first to really make me internalize that developing your mind and soul was just as important as developing athletically. He said not to worry, that I’d find my sport someday and would probably be in the best shape of my life by the time I turned 30. VanWert’s right again.