Cough Cough

Monday, Jan 14:

Meet of the Miles at the University of Minnesota Field House. This is the first MDRA Grand Prix event of 2008, just one indoor-track mile. I was hoping for a finish around 6:00, but expecting to run more like 6:15, and actually ran 6:18 I think (results are not up yet). Results will be here. That would make me second of four in my age group, I think, but it also says I have some work to do to get back to the 6:00 one-mile pace that I have sometimes run in the past.

I think I made a mistake in this race. Immediately after the start there were two or three runners ahead of me, and I settled in behind one who seemed to be going about the right speed. At the first lap (of eight) the clock said 0:45, which was my target pace per lap. At the second, it said 1:30, still on target. It seemed to me that we kept up the pace, but actually we dropped back in each of the next three laps. Finally I passed the runner I was following, but of course in such an intense race it’s not possible to gain back much time. I might have done better if I had passed that runner right away when we started to lose time, and just run my own race.

The "Cough Cough" headline refers to the low humidity in the Field House, which severely dries a runner’s throat in the short time of the one-mile race. Race organizers bring cough drops, for which the runners are grateful, but even so the cough lasts for hours after the race is over. Oddly, this same thing does not happen at the Bethel University indoor track.

P.S. Hey the results are in, and I actually ran 6:12.5, a little better than I thought. :-)



Yesterday's breakfast: Organic oatmeal, organic fat-free milk, clementine, macadamia nuts, banana, organic pecans, Don's nut/fruit/berry mix.


Yesterday's lunch: Organic salad greens, cucumber, clementine, organic black beans marinated in apple cider vinegar, Maytag blue cheese, avocado, blueberries, Brazil nuts. One of my best salads ever. Sunshine prepares the major ingredients, bless her heart, and I put them in the bowl and add whatever else strikes my fancy at that meal.


Recent dinner: Organic chicken liberally peppered, organic sweet potato with organic salsa, leftover vegetable dish, organic pomegranite juice. I had seconds.