Don't watch: it's only a training run

I haven't run a 3000m track race for 20 years. I used to do them on an old cinder track in the depths of south London way back when I was trying to be a cross-country star. Now Bobby has thrown me into one tonight. It's one of the Boulder Road Runners summer track events on the swish University of Colorado synthetic track at Potts Field.

As far as Sir Coach and I are concerned, this is a training event in the middle of a base period that is a kind of "let's see what's in there" race to find out just how much speed-endurance I am still lacking. Unfortunately, quite a few people who have been following the saga of my roller-coaster training this year are threatening to come and watch. I think I'm going to run it in disguise.

It's coming towards the end of a mixed bag of training that will bring me to Day 18 of the Re-start Phase.

Monday's run, including a steady tip-toe climb to the lower slope of Sanitas, felt SO smooth and relaxed! I don't know whether it was the endorphins kicking in, but for the rest of the day I was feeling insanely fit and healthy. If I could bottle that feeling...

The next day, desperate for something flat and soft, I took myself off to the "woodchip trail" hard by Potts Field. This is a "scenic" half-mile loop tucked away in a business park. It is overdue for a new layer of woodchip, but is still relatively softer underfoot than some of Boulder's trails. Knowing it might get boring, doing 8-10 laps, I did something I NEVER do -- plugged myself into my Ipod while running, shock horror!

I'm sure I was close to getting arrested after the player dropped down inside my training trousers and I had to wrestle it out. What with that, then coping with falling-out earphones and strangling myself with the cord, I remembered why I don't do this more often :). But it was so weird how my pace picked up when the "right" songs came on. I won't bore you with my playlist; suffice to say it was one I set up when I was in the grip of a minor obsesssion with a Concept indoor rowing machine. The tracks are selected to get me into a trance ASAP!

Now I'm hooked. I'm not going to use it on every run, but certainly on some of the faster ones. But I must get some new earphones. Any suggestions gratefully received.

Yesterday morning: Drills. With instructions to take it easy so as not to wreck my legs for tonight. Which is "just" a training race, remember? We do strides with hand weights; this exaggerates any weirdness we are doing with our arms. As soon as I started striding with a 2lb weight in each hand, my right piriformis screamed at me. Obviously I am lacking some kind of glute/lower back power, as I can't stabilise myself properly with the addition of a bit of weight.

I'm going to have an ART (Active Release Technique) session this afternoon... then see what's what on the track. Pray for better weather; we had gales here last night and the wind does seem to be picking up again already.