Impatience Only Hurries Frustration

With yesterday's hard-chugging work-out, Jim responded that I need to get off the track and hit the Prairie Path without concern of time.

Happily, for all of last night's drudgery, I recovered well. No aches. No pains.

When Jim cut me (and some others) off from the rest of the workout, it bugged me. I wanted to run more. I wasn't done. Or, rather, I was done, but I was upset with the truth. No more gas in the tank yesterday. Keeping in with another few 400s would not have accomplished much more than misery.

Why is that so hard for me? The idea makes sense, but there is an allure to knowing exactly how fast I am going at any given moment. Still, since not only does he know more about such matters than me, and I agree on top of that, I need to shake it.

My compromise will be that I'll click my stopwatch, but not look at it until I finish. That hopefully will feed enough of my constant curiosity and numbers running (or is that running numbers?) and yet, allow me to run unencumbered by the details. I'll try to run a specific distance, and can do basic division later.

As for getting onto the IPP more, what choice do I have? I have knees, calves and other body parts I need to protect. What good am I if I blow an Achilles? it is important I remember than although I see progress, I hardly have much of a base. I'm not sure how the impact of each footstep is being absorbed.

I am still out of shape. So long as I'm wearing the belt of fat, so long as I can't run 10 miles with relative ease mentally and physically, I am out of shape. The miles are getting longer, and the fat is slowing coming off, but I is where I is, and that is still a way from fitness.

I'm impatient. Progress is encouraging me, but I can't hurry. For starters, no amount of hard work will get me to sub-20 in a month. Grit ain't enough. Maybe if I were already generally fit, but I'm not. Will power might help me get through a workout that is slogging, but it won't speed up fitness. I don't like it, but my liking or not liking things won't change anything.

The heat will continue to be unbearable today and this weekend. I need to get up and out early. I missed that window this morning, and am unsure about this evening. The weatherman says dire things about tonight's heat. I have always run best during cooler days. I had hoped to do a 5K time trial on the track in the next few days, but it might need to wait. I'm looking to see that I've gotten faster, not to point out how awful a 90-degree run can be.

• Fri 89°F 61°F
• Sat 88°F 64°F
• Sun 90°F 67°F
• Mon 91°F 66°F