Save the Flying Pigs!!!

Yesterday, I was driving merrily to FAST, whistling to myself and thinking happy little running thoughts, when I drove by a sign that made me do a double-take. I was so alarmed by what I saw, in fact, that I drove back around the block so that I could get a really good look at the sign and make sure I saw what I thought I saw. My more sensitive readers may need to look away now, as what you are about to see is not for the faint of heart:


I don't know about you, but I am shocked and outraged. Flying pigs are obviously an endangered species (when's the last time you saw one in the wild???) and they need to be protected! I hope that you'll join me in the fight to save the flying pigs. Together, we can make a difference and stop the senseless slaughter of the beautiful and majestic winged pig (latin name, porkus aviaris).

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, we can return to running-related topics. *whistles happily again*

With Coach Brad on vacation this week, us FASTies are under the complete control of Coach Maggie. After the workout she had us do last night, I have come to realize that this is a very scary thing. *shudders at the memory*

It was another hot and humid evening in central Illinois, and instead of running in the relatively comfortable shade of the cemetery, that crazy woman had us doing ladder repeats on the track! Where there's no shade! NONE!

Here's the workout in a nutshell: 2 mile warmup (at least that was shady), then repeats as follows - 2000m, 1600m, 1200m, 1000m, 800m, and 400m, each one increasing in speed, with about 3 minutes rest between each.


As you can see from the graph, I did a most excellent job of increasing my speed with each interval. It helped that Coach Maggie told me (and all the other marathoners) to run the first two repeats at about marathon pace. Well, for me, marathon pace is really not much faster than warmup pace, so those repeats were no big deal. Except for the scorching sun and stifling humidity. But I digress. Once I got into the shorter repeats and started picking up my pace, things got harder. The 2-3 minute rests between each interval definitely helped, but still... it was a brutal workout. After I finished my 400m interval, I came startlingly close to inheriting the Puke Crown. Actually, several of us had near-ralphing experiences last night. The combination of the sun beating down on us, the heat and the humidity, and our skyrocketing heart rates made our stomachs feel like they were full of lead. But since nobody actually threw up, Niki is still the proud owner of the not-so-highly-coveted Puke Crown.

But maybe if she brought a bucket of pig wings to pass around before the next FAST run, she could easily get rid of the crown. Just sayin'...

Peace. Love. Train.