Crucible on the track...

I ran somewhere between 3-4 miles over at West Valley Track late this afternoon. Not really sure of the exact distance. My club was running 400's. I decided to jump in and run three of them. It was warm or so everyone kept saying. The first was the toughest. I was sucking wind the last straightaway. I had to rein in the pace. I thought I was going to lose it. Hit a gasping 85. I had simply gone out too fast. I went out much slower on the second one hitting 44 half way and pushed the last 200. This one was another 85 but I felt much (much) better. On the last 400 I ran even pace, felt strong and nailed 83. I thought about doing a fourth one but decided against it. I am hoping with constant effort that I'll get used to running 400's in the 70's. I have to accept that I have lost ground since last fall before I tweaked my hamstring and later on my calf. Age graded, it's like I ran in the 63-64 range. So given that perspective, I can't be too unhappy.