Speedwork, a Garden Hose and Cereal

On the schedule for this morning’s run was a speed session to try to get ready for a faster 5k. I stepped out of the front door and onto the street and headed for Slade Field, which is a one-mile run from the house. I punched the Nickel Creek playlist on my iPod and started the one mile warm-up.

When I turned the corner on Blunk Road I could see a glow in the sky in the direction of the High School. By the time I got to Dixie Drive I could tell that the stadium lights were on at Slade Field. Usually the field is mostly dark.

The lights were blazing at Slade because the Brazoswood Buccaneer football team was about to start an early morning practice. One coach and a couple of players were on the field early getting in extra work by running lines before official practice began.

I ran on the track and changed my playlist to “run – tempo” and kicked it into a higher gear for the first of four 800 meter repeats with 400 recovery. The 800’s were 3:32, 3:32, 3:35, 3:42 – I was dying at the end as you can see by that last time.

When I finished I stopped by the water fountain and drank too much. The first two hundred yards or so of the cool-down run home were rough. Pushing myself and then drinking too much water immediately afterwards made me feel a little nauseated. I know I’ve had a good work-out when I feel like I’m going to puke.

When I got home I fed the dogs and then turned on the water and stood under the stream of the garden hose. There is nothing like rinsing off in the water hose in the summer after a hot run. The water hits my head and it is so cold I lose my breath for a couple of seconds. The routine of rinsing off in the water hose started years ago because I need to get the sweat out of my clothes so they wouldn’t stink up the garage as they dried during the day. Now I enjoy the wet cool-down beyond the mere functionality of the routine.

After taking a shower another of my favorite post run sensual treats is to fill up a big bowl with cereal and skim milk. My body seems to crave fuel and most of the time the cereal satisfies my craving more than anything I eat for the rest of the day. I add more milk than is necessary for the amount of cereal in the bowl so that there is some flavored drink left when the cereal is gone. I drink what is left straight from the bowl. Mmmmm …

The joy of running lasts even after the run has been run.