First of all, we welcomed a new co-coach, Maggie, who despite being a University of Illinois grad (boooo! hisssssss! Go Purdue!), is actually pretty cool. I guess all of those things they say about U of I grads aren't true after all.
I'm kidding!
Really!
Mostly!
*begs* Coach Maggie, please don't punish me with extra core work next week. Do you like cookies? I can bake you some cookies!
Anyway, Coach Maggie will most certainly make us work hard. She nearly had us crying during the core work today. I am pretty sure we will all have ripped abs by the time this season of FAST is over. I think Coach Bekah (who has left us to move to New Hampshire - so rude!) would be pleased to know that her legacy of really tough core work is being continued. We are even carrying on Bekah's crazy form drills and dynamic warmups, and Coach Maggie has thrown some new moves into the mix. So the torture is the same... yet different.
Today was also momentous because the FAST Puke Crown was passed on from Becky to Niki, in a very formal ceremony which involved Becky giving the crown to Niki in a paper bag and Niki placing the crown on her head to wear during the core workout.
That says "Royal Puker", in case you can't see it. Niki earned the crown through her awesome display of reverse peristalsis at the Steamboat Classic 4 Mile race back in June. I think the crown looks stunning on her, but she seems pretty eager to give it up. Who will be the next puking FASTie? Only time will tell. I just hope it's not me.
As for tonight's run... it was a toughie. The heat and humidity made the warmup feel like a sprint. I am sure we have run in hotter weather, but today the humidity was particularly high and there was very little breeze. The coaches had us do 3 x 1 mile repeats in the cemetery (which is, thankfully, mostly shady) with a couple minutes rest between. The goal was to run them consistently, so that the last mile would be as fast as the first one.
Yeah, I totally failed. Epic fail.
My mile times were 8:48, 9:00 and 9:18. To be fair, the coaches did say it was an effort-based workout, not a pace-based one. And I can assure you that the 9:18 pace of the 3rd mile sure seemed like the same effort as the 8:48 of the first mile. But I don't think this is quite what Coach Brad had in mind. Nevertheless, it was a very good workout despite my poor attempt at consistent pacing.
I fear what Thursday's workout will bring. I am sure it will be something involving hills. My old friend, The Hill Of Death, is calling my name. "Emilyyyyyy... come run up my steep slope.... I miss youuuuu..." I am pretty sure it just wants me to earn the Puke Crown, though.
Peace. Love. Train.
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