Dave Has a Bad Day...Sort of

This is how I felt today. For Cross Country practice, we had to do our six mile tempo run. I was supposed to hit paces between 5:40 and 5:50 for the whole run. However, I now know what it means to "tank" a workout. We started the first mile slow (5:55), and I felt pretty good. However, for the next mile, Keith, the guy who broke out last race with a 28:08, took the lead and immediately upped the pace. We rolled a 5:28 for the next one! I still didn't feel terrible, but this pace was very atypical for me in this workout.
The bad news comes in the next two miles. I was trying to hang with Bobby, Max, and Sam as Keith continued to lead a fast pace. Us four freshman hit the 3-mile at 5:41 to make our 3-mile total time 17:05 (just 4 seconds off my High School P.R.). At this point, the hard 2nd mile hit me and I got a terrible side ache. I fell off until I was well behind Bobby, Max, and Sam. My 5th mile fell to 6:11, and I could only end in 5:59 for a total time of 35:03. Now I know, to most of you, that time still may seem quick, but when you can't keep up with your group, you really feel down.
Still, I tried to stay positive despite my downcast feeling. After the run, Coach asked how I was doing. I answered, "I felt like Wile E. Coyote, and they were the roadrunners."

On a brighter note, Steve Gifford, my track coach, came down and took me out to dinner. We had a nice time socializing and now I'm back at IWU wasting time before going to bed. I have had hardly any homework these last few days, so it's been really nice. However, I don't like having nothing to do. Hopefully, I kind find something to keep busy the next few days...the piano is also available!