Track Workout: Intervals Ladder

Scheduled:
400/600/800 (3MR) 800/600/400 with 200 recovery walk or slow jog between each interval. 400 and 600 @ 5K pace; 800 @ 10K pace

Actual:
I ammended it slightly to use miles and program the intervals in my Garmin since I don't think it can do distances in meters (if it can and anyone knows how, let me know).

I walked .34 miles to the track from my apartment, so I just ran an easy 1/2 mile at a 12:11 pace to warm up, then began the intervals. After the intervals, I walked for less than 1/10th of a mile and ran for a combined total of .55 mile at 12:26 pace. Then I walked another mile to Publix and home.

My 5K pace is 11ish, but I can't run that slow for short distances when I am not taking walk breaks. I also think it has probably gotten faster and I just haven't run a race since to confirm it. The program director said it's ok to run them a little faster as long as I am able to keep a consistent pace and not fade at the end. I think I ran them too fast last week since I was only able to do 1 set, so I decided to target a 10:00 pace for the 400s and 600s, and a 10:15 pace for the 800s and focus on keeping a consistent pace throughout the whole workout. I'm really pleased with my efforts. I probably could have gone a little faster, but I think this was enough of a challenge, yet not so fast that I wanted to die at the end. I'll probably try to speed it up gradually in upcoming workouts.

Below are my times for each run interval. I'm not sure how the pace is different for the 800s when the time was the same *shrug*

time / pace / distance

2:32 / 9:58 / .25
3:43 / 10:03 / .37
5:07 / 10:12 / .5
5:07 / 10:14 / .5
3:41 / 9:54 / .37
2:25 / 9:58 / .24

Track Workout: Intervals

I find it amusing that I should read this post on intervals over at Half-Fast the day before my first interval track workout. I flirted with intervals once before, just after I had finished C25K, but it never went anywhere. During my half marathon training, we had the option of doing track work on Thursday mornings but I lived too far away then to get up early enough to be there by 4:45 am. Now that I am less than 5 miles away, I figured I'd give it a try. It went pretty well and getting up at 4 am to do this wasn't too bad, but I may opt to do this workout on Wednesday nights with the WRAP program instead, since they meet at a track within walking distance from my apartment.

So on to the workout ...

Scheduled:
6-8 x 400 @ 5k pace
200 recovery walk or slow jog between each 400
1 or 2 sets with a 3 minute recovery after the 1st set

Actual:
Since my millage has been low lately, and my pace slowish, because of the knee/foot issues I had after the half marathon on 2/8, I didn't want to push it too much, so I opted for just one set of 6. The knee felt fine, but better safe than sorry.

Warm up:
nice and easy 1 mile in 13:05 without walking.

Intervals:
I ran the first 2 intervals using the track as my measurement, but it was dark and I was confused as to where the halfway point was for the recovery walk, so after 2 intervals I decided to set my watch to do .25 mile / .13 mile intervals. This ensured I ran a consistent distance for each interval for better comparison, and that I wouldn't have to worry about where on the track to run or walk.

Here are my times for each run interval:

time / pace / distance
2:39 / 9:23 / .28
2:26 / 9:26 / .26
2:19 / 9:08 / .25
2:15 / 8:58 / .25
2:11 / 8:43 / .25
2:11 / 8:44 / .25

Cool down:
After the 6th interval, I walked for a bit then jogged 1/2 a mile at an 11:53 pace, then walked one last lap for good measure. My right knee and thigh felt a little tight, but no real pain to speak of. Including the warm up and cool down, I ran 3.7 miles in 43:55 for an average 11:52 pace.

Analysis:
Except for the 1st 2 intervals, I'm ecstatic to see these negative splits, and the 1st 2 intervals I attribute to the confusion. These times/pace seem really fast to me. I do not run sub-10 5Ks, and certainly not sub-9, but I didn't feel like I was exerting myself that much.

Maybe I am supposed to average a 5K pace when you include the recover jog/walks? If so, then I need to walk/jog faster, or the more likely reason is that I simply do not push myself enough at races. It could also be the effects of my bike and swim cross training coming throuhg.

Either way, I am very happy with this workout and look forward to the next one. I know what you are all thinking, that I am crazy for wanting another date with intervals, but we're still in the honeymoon stage of our relationship. Give it time ;)

1st Speed Interval Run

(HYC visitors, check out the previous post for my check in and update)
This morning I did my first speed interval run and worked up quite a sweat. Thank got that the runs were only 1/4 mile each, because I may have taken them too fast. I think I just need to get used to the speed and control my breathing more. I ran/walked a total of 2.51 miles with a full 1/2 mile warm up jog. I am definitely doing this once a week. It felt great.

Here is what I did: