PSP

To paraphrase from Lily Allen's LDN:

You might laugh, you might frown
Runnin' round Prospect Park.
The sun is in the sky, oh why, oh why,
Would I wanna be anywhere else?

Lily doesn't sing about Prospect Park, but when that song came on the iPod this morning on my return run from the track (yes, I did say track... more on that in a bit), I easily adapted the lyrics to fit the dirty little blue collar town in which I live. And the sun was in the sky and I had a lot to be happy about despite all the little things nipping at my heels (i.e., work, getting licensed, bills, etc.)

Since I had my salsa class last night and didn't get home until after 11pm, I awoke a bit later than is typical for me. Given this, running in Tinicum did not seem like a real possibility due to the fact that the construction workers were likely arriving on the scene just as I was rolling out of bed. I thought about the track - a mere two miles away - and my half-hearted commitment to speed work, but really didn't feel like I wanted to go fast today. So I bargained with myself that I'd at least run over to the track and check it out... see if it was open, see exactly how to get onto the track, etc. I figured that I didn't have to do any actual track work.. I could just go and take a look see... which is essentially what I did.

As I got closer to the track, I realized that even if I did want to do any 'speed work', I didn't know what times I should be aiming for. It was easier when I did it on the treddy last week because I could increase my pace accurately (well, as accurate as the treddies at my gym are) and note the distance traveled at said speed. The track is foreign territory to me... are there markers for 200s? or do I just eyeball what is halfway around? And how fast should I be striving to do 200s or 400s? It sounded like a lot of math to me and at 6something in the morning, I was like, "Nahhhh."

But, I figured I had come all that way (okay, so it was a little less than 2 miles), I really should at least pretend to do some speed work... which is essentially what I did. I did four laps around the track: 200s at a regular pace mixed in with 200s at something faster than regular pace... which didn't feel so fast (and, no, I didn't keep time). My legs just weren't feeling it. I still got this foot thing going on. I'm hoping some new kicks (which should be arriving by late this week, early next week) will help that - and make me run faster, of course.

But, as I mentioned in the beginning of this post, I was feeling pretty happy, so my tired legs and non-SPRNTCness didn't get me down. As I ran home, I thought about my upcoming day. I'm looking forward to a possible picnic (weather permitting) with Seebo this evening. If the weather does cooperate, we'll dine in the Azalea garden near the Art Museum... I believe that is called al fresco.

A little under 5 miles in a little under 45 minutes.