Speed Kills

Oh c’mon now – surely I’m not the only living person on the planet who grew up watching WKRP in Cincinnati?!  Every weekday, after school.  One of the most brilliant sit-coms ever.  EVER!

And The Hold Up?  In which Dr. Johnny Fever DJ’s live from Del’s Stereo and Sound?  And, in response to Del’s over-caffeinated speed rant, Dr. Johnny Fever deadpans, “Uh-huh. Speed kills, Del,”?  Pure awesomeness.

Haven’t seen it?  Then, click below and watch, then come back.  I’ll wait…

WKRP - The Hold Up (Hulu)

My second-favorite* episode.  EVER.

What on earth does this have to do with running? Let me tell you… speed does kill, Del.  Or at least it can kill a training plan.

I had a speed workout planned for this past weekend.  6 x 800-meter repeats at a 10:30/mile pace.  It was a nice morning, for West-Central Florida, (meaning that the humidty was only 99% and the temp was actually BELOW 80! I almost grabbed a parka.  almost.), and I was feeling all sorts of badass after a little ½ mile warm-up.  So I fired it up and rolled off the first 800m at a 10:22 pace.  Nailed a second 800m at 10:11.  Slowed down a tad to run the third 800m at 10:37.  And then felt the full force of the sun and wound up running the 4^th 800m at 11:18. 

But I still felt strong, and that last slower lap left me feeling recovered enough to push the next 800m.  So I did.  Push.  Against the pavement.  With my right foot.  And then stopped.  With an audible, “WTF?!”  My knee hurt.  A lot.  On the outside.  And it wasn’t my bad, ITBS-ridden left leg.  Oh no.  It was the right leg – the good leg.

GAH!

Long story short, I tweaked a bunch of stuff that connects to the top of my fibula, stretched my LCL and hamstring tendon a bit more than they like to be stretched. The Miracle Worker (my chiropractor) did some chiro-magic to reduce the swelling and promote healing and told me not to run for a week.  And then, when I do run again, to slow down some. 

Speed kills, V.

Luckily, I have plenty of time before any long race and I've already hit 10 miles in training, so I'm not too worried.  And really, it's so blasted hot down here, I'm quite okay with taking a week off.  So there.

*My absolute favorite episode is, of course, the 1978 classic, Turkeys Away.  Priceless.