Is something burning around here?

I've never been much of a fan of running as fast as I possibly can for any length of time.  From when I was a kid, whenever I exerted that much energy all at once my lungs would hurt like hell for hours after (hello, childhood asthma - or so I thought); I specifically remember racing round my backyard and having to take breaks to breathe shallowly until it stopped hurting a lot.  Yuck.

Well, it being track season and all (kid #1 is LOVING the track club she's a part of this spring), I somehow got it into my head that I really, really want to know how fast I can run a mile.  All out, no holds barred...run as fast as I can for a whole mile...after all, I've completed 26.2 a couple times, 13.1 a few more...done a few tempo runs, even some track work here and there...why not?  How bad could it be (sense a little foreshadowing here)?

So- after a few weeks with only a couple opportunities to get some exercise in...and a little bit of stress build-up (ok, A LOT), I decided I wanted (NEEDED) to get out and do something.  Only thing was that I had all 3 kids; Mike was out on a long bike ride and had a late meeting thereafter, so I was out of luck.  Then came my "A-HA!" moment - what about the HS track?!?!  It's all fenced in, and I would be able to see them at all times...PERFECT!  We'd head over after kid #2's soccer practice and I can already start to  feel those endorphins a-flowin'.  Only problem:  as we drive by the school, there's a LAX game on the turf...what's that saying about the "best laid plans"?  Alrighty, on to Plan B - the park down the street.  There is a paved pathway all around the park with a playground...Kid #1 could watch the other 2 while I do my little experimental time trial...

So off we go to the park, everything going according to plan.  Kids are happy, I'm giddy and the sun is shining.  I get them settled in - explain the rules to kid #1 (no fighting, no pushing, no leaving the area, no heckling mom as she runs by, etc.) and off I go - flying down the pathway.  All's well until about halfway...my achilles lungs start that awful "holy crap, I'm on fire" feeling...but I keep going thinking I might be able to just run through it.  Needless to say, I'm pretty sure that wasn't such a good idea because as I sit here now (3 days later) it still hurts to take a deep breath.  The result?  6:58 minute per mile pace.  Not as fast as I thought I could be, but ok.  For now.  Dun dun dunnnnnn....

So the take away from all this?
- Warming up might have been a good thing to do first (yes, heavy sarcasm from here on down - duh)
- If one hasn't been practicing sprinting, maybe that should be part of the training before sprinting for a length of time
- Long distance training may not be conducive to fast-paced short-distance running
- Pick a flat terrain venue.  Hills might slow you down a bit.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to a nice, sloooow long run this weekend.  Only a few weeks 'till Rutgers Unite Half!