Getting rocked by Intervals and rocking them back...
A repeat of today's fitness blog post:

Assigned Intervals on the indoor track...wow.

Coach Ilg says that the difference between a serious athlete and a recrational athlete is intervals. I felt serious today. When I got to the track, there were two men just arriving, including one who looked hardcore, at least on the surface. They were gone by the time I was done, and I never saw them pushing themselves. I knew I had outworked them.

I also ran smart. I think I once tried this workout and didn't finish the required number of reps because I had exhausted myself in the first half. This time, I may have held back a little too much on some of the reps, particularly the 3-minute ones, but I nailed that last intervaland recaptured a little of that glorious finishline agony I used to drink and breath. I also tend to get sideaches during this, and I just ran through the pain this time. My left calf was still unusually sore from my Lower Body day, but I just ignored it, warmed it up well, and then blasted the pain out with sprints. That's warrior style right there.

I had been fearing this workout when I woke up, thinking I should put it off 'til afternoon...I'm so glad I shut out that voice of doubt. Fear won't get anybody anywhere. And fear of what? Brief pain...followed by heaven. Old words from XC came through my head "You can do anything for three minutes," said some voice from running camp. And then Ramos' words at the Peninsula course interval workout, during the summer I trained with Wick for my Yale debut that never was: "Larsen, you're one of the strongest women I know."

And afterwards, after trucking through the full 20-minute cooldown, I felt like I was on a cloud of sweat and stillness. Nothing, nothing feels better than that little bit of divinity.

All this with no iPod, of course...that would have been wrong, somehow. A real cardio workout, afterall, is just another meditation.

Remember, there is no dishonor in throwing up. There is only dishonor in giving up. - Ilg, on Intervals