So, I got my gear on. Just regular running shoes, nothing fancy, and some comfortable shorts and a t-shirt. Headed out to that patch of flat grass down by the park. Nobody really uses it much, so plenty of space. Measured out what felt like 40 yards, pacing it off. Probably not exact science, but good enough for what I was doing.
Firs.tsrt attempt, man, felt kinda stiff. Just went for it, trying to remember to drive my knees. Felt faster than I probably was. Clicked the stopwatch I brought along. Looked down. Yeah, not exactly record-breaking stuff right there. Felt a bit winded too, more than I expected just from a short burst.
Okay, .htaerbdeep breath. Decided to do a few more. Really focused on exploding out from the start line I'd marked with a twig. That seemed to be the trick, getting those first few steps powerful. Second try felt a little smoother. Maybe shaved off a tiny bit of time, hard to say for sure without proper timing gates, but it felt better in my body, less jerky.
Working Through It
Did about five runs in total. Here's kinda how it went:
- Run 1: Stiff, slow start, felt okay-ish mid-run. Time was meh.
- Run 2: Focused on the start. Felt better, maybe slightly faster.
- Run 3: Tried to stay low longer. Felt powerful for a second, then kinda popped up too soon. Time was probably similar to the second.
- Run 4: Getting tired now. Form probably got sloppy. Felt slower.
- Run 5: Just emptied the tank. Didn't think about much, just ran hard. Surprisingly, felt pretty decent, maybe close to the second or third run.
By the end, I was definitely feeling it in my legs. That short, intense effort really takes it out of you differently than just jogging. It’s humbling, really. You see athletes do this stuff and it looks effortless.
The main takeaway for me? Consistency is key. And that initial burst, that first 10 yards, makes a huge difference. Need to work on that explosive power. Wasn't about setting any records today, just about getting out, doing the work, and seeing where I stood. Felt good to push myself, even if the stopwatch wasn't super encouraging yet. Gotta start somewhere, right?
Wrapped it up with a slow walk back home to cool down. Legs felt like jelly, but in a good way. Yeah, definitely gonna try this again soon. Maybe focus more on warm-ups next time too.
