Once again -- not ready for competition

Not ready for   .. any track competition.  Forget prime time!

Here it is almost the end of January 2015 and I can not complete even one 400m without walking.  Forget how long it takes.  About 3 or 4 weeks ago, I returned to Sunday track practice and it was bad.  Since then it has not improved. Last week at UNC's Belk, I was able to trot around only if I maintained something like an 11 minute pace. This, after a half hour warm up of knee lifts (in my case slow and not high -- creaky knee), lunges, butt kicks etc.  When my running pal and I tried a decent run around (she recovering from knee surgery) I could not do it.  I got just a bit over 200m and bonked.  We moved onto 200m. Again, I could not complete the full 200m.  In the end I did one 100m in a partially decent speed.

It is not just lack of lung power, but leg strength as well.  Towards the end of the 200m runs, the legs felt weak.  The old rubbery feeling.  Very discouraging.

This week, I measured out about 1/4 mile on a local packed dirt-sand greenway.  The route is not flat and has some curves in it.  It is also week 3, high intensity week, of this session of Camp Gladiator.  So, early morning five days a week I do CG and then have some R&R at home before attempting the greenway 1/4 mile.  I have yet to get through any of the repeats without walking.  I made it easy by running one 1/4 mile then walking back to the start before running again.  The most I have been able to do is five repeats, none of which have taken less than 2:16 minutes and today's was 2:34!  More than a minute longer than my last competitive 400m!  (And today I felt a twinge in my left quad.  Stretching after helped.)     

Southeastern Regionals Indoor is February 8th.  I signed up for the 400m, 200m, and the 60m.  All in one day.  USATF Indoor Masters Nationals (championships) is March 20-22, also at JDL Fast Track in Winston Salem.  I would really like to drop the 400m.  I have not yet signed up for Nationals.  There are those who say I have to "defend my title".  Ugh.  That was an aberration.  The thought of trying to just get around the indoor 200m track twice is not enticing.  I suppose I can do it if I can cut back on my pace and just forget about anything other than finishing without walking.  The problem is I tend to speed up and then deflate, like certain Patriot footballs.

Too little training, endurance, muscle strength.