400 Repeats

Just to log what I did this weekend, my long run on Sunday was great.  The weather was beautiful.  There was a light breeze and I started my run around 2:30pm and the temperature was 82 degrees.  That is the coolest it has been since spring, so it was very welcome.  I took it easy and was able to get 8.7 miles logged in 1:24:17, so that was an average pace of 9:41 per mile.  I stopped once for 4 minutes to get water and do a quick set of leg stretches.

Today, the weather was about the same, but a little windy.  We were running on the track, so the good and bad is that you run in a circle.  The wind as at your back just as much as it is in your face.

We did our usual mile warmup jog, stretches, and 4x100 stretches.  Today's workout was 5 sets of 2 x 400 with 1 minute rest between reps and 2:15 between sets.  The intended pace was 2-3 seconds slower than mile pace on the first and then mile pace on the second rep.

My mile time at the time trial was 6:07, so that means my mile pace would dictate a 1:32 and the first, slower lap would be a 1:34/35.  I didn't run anything over 1:30.  I ran most of them between 1:23 and 1:28.  The slowest was 1:30 and the fastest (last one) was 1:20.  I wish I had a way of recording them... or remembering.  I don't know why, but I pushed the pace and was able to keep up with the middle pack today.  After the first few, I was able to stride out and stay tall in my posture.  I felt relaxed after the first 4 laps and didn't feel forced.  That's about when my left hamstring finally loosened up.  One of these days, I am going to find a jacuzzi and soak this leg.  I will probably wait until after my 5k this weekend.  Even though I felt good during this workout, Coach Nathan thought it best that I sit out the last set.  I would have overruled him, but considering my hammy condition, I agreed.  Almost everyone else in my running group ran 6 sets.  I did some extra hamstring stretches after the general workout.  We ran as a group for 1.25 miles as a cooldown around Lake Eola to finish up the night.

Note: I kept my shoes less taut at the beginning of the workout and I felt my feet sliding around causing friction and unnecessary heat buildup.  Half way through the repeats, I tightened up my shoestrings and the adjustment allowed me to carry on with the workout with no blisters.