Taking the Speed Indoors

I headed to the gym for a treadmill speed session today. There are no indoor tracks that I know about around here, so if I want to do intervals in the winter, to the gym I go! It really isn't so bad to run on the treadmill when you're doing intervals since the speedwork breaks up the monotony.

The workout: 

• 2 mile warm-up
• 2 miles @ 6:58 min/mile
• 1/2 mile recover
• 1 mile @ 6:39
• 1/2 mile recover
• 1/2 mile @ 6:27
• 2 mile cool-down

It was a great workout! I found this workout online somewhere quite a while ago but this is the first time I decided to give it a go. It is kind of a mix between an interval workout and a tempo run. I like it and it is well-suited for treadmills. It was hard and tells me I have a long way to go to break 19 min in a 5k, though treadmill paces always feel harder, so it is hard to judge accurately. My 5k race in one week will be the real indicator.

800s on The Beast!?

Did my speedwork on the beast at Lifetime today. Was too chilled for an outdoor workout. Not because it was all that cold out, but because I hadn't been warm all day due to "heat Nazis" at work. Just couldn't stand the thought of running in the cold. It was kind of a strange phenomenon. It was only 37 degrees out, but felt so much colder since I was so chilled all day at work. Normally, 37 degrees is pretty warm for a Michigan winter and would have me running outside no problem. It was definitely a psychological thing. All I kept thinking was, "I need to get warm."

The treadmill workout wasn't bad. Only did 5x800 because my knee started feeling "wrong" and I didn't want to push it. Only intended 6 anyway, so I wasn't too far off. 6.5 miles altogether. The intervals were done at 9mph (6:39min/mile) and recoveries at 6.8mph (?min/mile).

Too tired to write in full sentences. Sorry.

Good Run, Bad Run. A Balancing Act.

Icky, tough run today. Very humid, but not too warm at all. Can I really blame the humidity? I'm not sure. I did 10 miles with 4 mile repeats yesterday. Could that be why today was hard? No, the day after hard runs is usually not THIS difficult. I dunno why it was so crappy, but it was. Crappy, that is. For the first 2-3 miles, I was very light headed. Almost thought I was gonna pass out. (But did I stop? Of course not. Stupid, obsessed redhead.) This has happened a few times while running on Tuesdays after work. Only worked 6 hours though. Had plenty to eat. I always eat small amounts every few hours. Today I got up and had a bowl of Raisin Bran, then had coffee with yummy flavored creamer (White Chocolate Mocha), later a banana, then a Clif Bar, and lastly before the run (about 2pm), a bit of yogurt with granola. Made sure to keep hydrated today too. So no answers there either.

Shin only ached a small amount near the end of the run. Icing in a few minutes.

Since I mentioned the mile repeats... that run was the opposite of today. It was fantastic. Felt super - like I could fly. Did a 3 mile warm-up (I need lots of warm-up), then went into my repeats. I did 4 repeats with 1/2 mile jog in between. Here are my splits:

1. 6:46
2. 6:49 - Turn around! Having to stop, turn around and start up again always kills my time! Gah! :-)
3. 6:43
4. 6:36

So, bad run, good run. It all evens out in the end. Actually, no it doesn't. I do tend to have more good runs than bad runs!!

This weekend is the Mackinac Island Eight Mile. It will be another mini-vacation with a run included (extra mini this time - only staying 2 nights). Goal is 54:00! Wish me luck!

Giddy about Yasso 800s

I'm giddy, absolutely giddy about my interval workout today. Shun me if you must, but I've become a huge fan of the track. :-)

Wasn't looking forward to the workout today. The weather was crappy - rainy and cold. My shin started acting up again yesterday, so I was concerned about doing a hard workout. Plus, there's been quite a gap in time since I did my last intervals (scheduling just didn't work out), so I wasn't sure if I could handle my planned 8x800s. I decided to go for it anyway and headed out to the closest available track in Rochester Hills. I've never actually felt nervous driving to a run before, but I did today.

I think the tipping point may have been my new Mizuno Elixirs that I've been dying to try out. If I didn't have new shoes, I may have skipped the workout! That's how much I didn't want to do it!

So glad I did! I managed to pick just the right time to go. There was a gap in the rain, probably will be the only one all day. The rain stayed away until my 7th interval, then started up again only very lightly. It wasn't until I shut myself in my car that the rain started coming down significantly. Perfect!

Then there's the workout itself. Shin issues? Nonexistant. I felt fantastic from step one. The warm-up felt good and I felt more and more confident with each interval. My goal for my Yasso 800s has been 3:18s. I think I need to update my goal. I had too much fuel left after today's workout and only once got close to 3:18!! Here's how it went:

8x800 with 400 jogs (2 1/4 mile warm-up, 1 mile cool-down)

1. 3:16
2. 3:15
3. 3:15
4. 3:17
5. 3:15
6. 3:16
7. 3:15
8. 3:05

So despite the fact I haven't been to the track for a while, I managed to improve nonetheless. I'll take it! My ultimate goal for this workout is to do 10x800 at 3:18 (or less!) before my fall marathon. I have no doubt now I'll be able to do it.

-happy red

red goes to the track

Woo! Had the BEST track workout today! I'm building up my Yasso 800s. I want to be able to do 10 in the weeks before my fall marathon. Today I did 7! My goal pace was 3:18-3:20. I accomplished this nicely.(Fall marathon goal: sub 3:20)

Splits:

• 2 mile warm-up
• 3:11
• 3:15
• 3:18
• 3:21
• 3:19
• 3:17
• 3:16
• 1 mile cool-down

I was pooped when I was done! That 1 mile cool-down was hard. I don't think I could have done another repeat. In a few weeks it'll be time to attempt 8. I have some tempo runs and mile repeats between now and then. I remember when I first started doing these and 5 was hard! It is so cool to be able to see progress!

Tomorrow I tackle that trail that tackled me last week. It'll be the first trail run since my wipe-out. I'm not one to get psyched-out by things like that. I'm sure it'll go fine. My 25K trail run is coming up! This is the race I'm most looking forward to this year. August 15 is coming so soon! Yay!

Nine Days to Go!

Last speed training session before the Big One!

I decided to try a "modified" Yasso 800 workout. For Yasso 800s, your time goal for your 800 meter (or half mile) intervals is your marathon goal in minutes instead of hours. For instance, my marathon goal time is 3:35, understood as 3 hours 35 minutes. So my half mile interval for this workout should be run in 3 minutes 35 seconds. Pretty darned simple, really!

Recoveries are supposed to take the same amount of time as the interval. This is were the "modified" comes in. In order to be able to measure a half mile, I need to start my interval at the marker, no matter how long it takes me to get there! So my recoveries were usually just over 2 minutes. I honestly couldn't go any slower!

Since I'm in taper week, I only did 5 intervals. Here are my splits:

1. 3:25
2. 3:15
3. 3:19
4. 3:27
5. 3:29

I stink at pacing! haha! But I was very happy with the results today. Great run! All easy runs from here on out. My longest will be an 8-miler Saturday or Sunday.

9 days to go!

Half Mile Repeats

Treadmill intervals!

Might not seem too exciting, but one advantage I found is this... Even if you're getting tired, you can't slow down on the treadmill. It is kind of like having your own personal coach - forcing you to continue to the end of the interval. Also, you know your pace is consistent! It really was a great workout. Here's what I did:

Six Half Mile Repeats with Quarter Mile Recoveries - Each half mile was 3:24. I did my recoveries in 2:12.

It was nice to get a feel for the pace though I now know that treadmill pace feels much different than outside pace. I was very happy with how I did today. My total distance was 6.75 miles.

red tries to get speedy

Alright, all you seasoned runners. No snickering as I relay the results of one of my first attempts at mile repeats. First, keep in mind it was NOT on a track. I did it at Stony Creek Metropark which has a 6 mile hilly loop that is marked every 1/4 mile. The hills had a huge impact on my times! While it makes it harder to keep a consistent pace during intervals, the way I look at it, it makes for a better overall workout. So there. :-)

Here are my times (using my husband's new spiffy Timex that is WAY too big for my tiny wrist - I still don't have a watch that records splits):

1.5 mile warm-up. *Jogged a half mile between intervals*

1 - 6:57

2 - 7:13 (ack! hills!)

3 - 6:39 (wooo! downhill!)

1 mile cool-down.

My goal was to hover around 7 min/mile pace. For a newbie, I thought I did pretty good! It was a hard effort but I felt great at the end. Maybe next time I'll try 4 repeats and see how it goes. :-))))

Red Won a Turkey Trot Scarf!

Had a GREAT workout doing intervals on Thursday. I again did my speedwork on the treadmill as I'm still learning what it feels like to do different paces. I did 3x 1 mile intervals with half mile jogs in between. My intervals were at 7:03 pace (exactly 8.5 mph on the mill). When I was doing these intervals, I kept thinking, "How in the world did I keep this pace up for 10K in the Turkey Trot last Fall??????" Somehow I managed. I have the Top 100 Turkey Trot scarf to prove it! (I wear it everywhere - I'm so proud!) But I'm still not convinced it wasn't a fluke. I'm longing for my next 10K to see if I can do a repeat performance. I tell ya, race-day adrenaline must be super-potent, because I'm still in shock at my time.

So my hubby got a call a few days ago from someone involved with the Stoney Creek Running Club. We've been thinking of joining up for a few months. It'd be great to meet fellow addicts - er, I mean, runners. I'm kind of a solo-trainer, but that doesn't mean I'm entirely anti-social. We already know several people in the club anyway, and it'd be nice to meet some more. Perhaps I'll find running with others will push me to limits I didn't know existed. Perhaps I'll learn some training and racing tips from far more seasoned runners. Perhaps I'll just have a great time!

Anyway, the call was a personal invitation to the Sunday group run at the park. It is "Bagel Sunday", so that means free food and coffee after the run. That always helps motivation to attend! Plus, apparently there will be a few reporters on-hand from local papers to do write-ups about, well, running is my guess. Some of the elite Brooks-Hanson's guys and gals will be there too. I wonder if we got invited to help swell the ranks and impress the reporters. heh. I still think I'll put it on my calender. Free food, free food, free food...