8 x 600 intervals

I ran intervals tonight.  8 x 600 at just a little slower than mile pace with a 200 recovery jog.  It was chilly and windy.  Temps were around 50 degrees.  The wind was blowing in the direction of the straights, so it was nice gliding on one side and pushing into the cold air on the other.

I wasn't feeling good during the first half of the workout and then I took a pee break.  What a difference that made.  I felt free to just run the second half of intervals without really concentrating on my times.

I was notified last night that I should be receiving a pair of VitalSox compression socks very soon.  I can't wait.  I plan on trying them as recovery socks to see if that helps my calves since they are usually hurting after workouts.  I figure I'll do that for a couple weeks.  Then, I will try wearing them as workout socks and see what that does.

Season's 52 Park Avenue 5.2k - Race

The course was flat and didn't have a lot of turns, so that made it fast.  The brick made it slow though.  It's not fun having to keep a watchful eye on ruts as you're thinking about your pace.  I like finishing down Park Avenue running on the shop lined street, but your ankles keep wobbling on the bricks.

As for me, I knew I wasn't going to have a good race from the start.  I don't know what it was, but I felt out of breath after a quarter mile and I was running my pace.  I struggled the entire run until the end.  My right calf hurt the entire race.  That's been building up since Tuesday.

I hit the first mile at 7:05.  That would have been great if I stayed at that speed, but I only slowed down.  My second mile split was 14:35, so I ran a 7:30 on that one.  The 3 mile split was 22:22 (7:47) which is kind of cool, but that should have been my 5k time which happened to be 23:07.  My 5.2k official chip time was 23:52.  I was hoping to break 23 minutes.  My average pace was 7:23.  That was aided by me speeding up for the last quarter mile, which I ran at 6 minute pace.

I haven't run this race or distance before, so at least it is a PR.  I hope to have pictures later.

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It's later!

That's me near the finish line.  No, not the kid!!  He beat me.  I'm the one with the gold glow.  There's more pictures at Track Shack's Facebook page.  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=10150090713668874&id=68449813873&aid=280604

Registered for Season's 52 Park Avenue 5.2k

I am finally registered for the Season's 52 Park Avenue 5.2k race this Saturday, January 22nd in Winter Park.  I have never run a 5.2k, so this is a guaranteed PR!!

http://www.trackshack.com/events/individual/parkave/parkave.shtml

400-800-400... Repeat... Repeat

I'm not sure what tendon and muscle was tight this evening, but it was the one in the back of your thigh that sort of sticks out in the back when you flex your legs.  It was sore during warmups and then just kinda hurt during the workout.  Didn't hurt enough to stop my workout though.

Plan was to run 400 at mile pace, 800 at 5k pace, 400 at mile pace with 1 minute recovery between each interval.  3 minute rest.  Repeat.  3 minute rest.  Repeat.  Fall over.

Mission accomplished!

Everything except for the pace.  I think I ran too fast on all but one interval out of nine.

400 = 1:28 = 5:54 mile pace = 18:20 5k

800 = 3:11 = 6:24 mile pace = 19:54 5k

400 = 1:30 = 6:02 mile pace = 18:45 5k

400 = 1:23 = 5:34 mile pace = 17:18 5k

800 = 3:16 = 6:34 mile pace = 20:25 5k

400 = 1:30 = 6:02 mile pace = 18:45 5k

400 = 1:32 = 6:10 mile pace = 19:10 5k

800 = 3:48 = 7:39 mile pace = 23:45 5k

400 = 1:18 = 5:14 mile pace = 16:15 5k

That last one laid me out.  I gave it everything I had.  I can hardly believe that I used to run a mile faster than that pace.  When I finished, I went straight to the grass to catch my breath.

I don't know why I'm obsessing over the hypothetical outcome, because I can't keep up those speeds without the rests.  My time over that 4800 meters is 18:56.  That is a 6:21 average mile pace and comes out to a 19:43 5k time.  That's where I'd like to be at the end of this year.

I already felt stronger mentally from running the 10 miler on Saturday.  There is a 5k this weekend, so I will be skipping the long run.  I can't wait to see what happens after I get a few more of these long runs under my belt.

5 Miles Today; 4 Runs This Week

I took a nap after yesterday's 10 mile run and by this morning, I didn't feel a whole lot of pain in my legs anywhere.  With this in mind, I kept thinking about running this afternoon.  The weather was amazing.  Sun was out and it was somewhere in the high 60's to low 70's.  I'm not sure exactly, but it sure was nice.

2 laps around Lake Ivanhoe.  That would be 5 miles and put me at 25 for the week.  I haven't run 4 times in one week in I can't remember how long.  I am feeling it.  My times aren't spectacular, but I am feeling more energetic and healthy and stronger.

I wanted to time my run, so I didn't do a warmup.  I went right into it.  I was at a good pace by a quarter mile.  I was running by myself, so whenever I felt like I was just running and not pushing, I thought in my head that I had to keep up with the other guys like during yesterday's 10 miler.  It worked.

I hit the first lap (2.5 miles) at 19:43 (7:49 per mile).  My full 5 mile time was 40:17, so that split was 20:34 (8:14  per mile).  My average pace over 5 miles was 8:03.

I got a few more blisters this run, but felt great making them.

Hello 10 Mile Run!

Hello old friend.  I haven't seen you in years.  You make my calves and feet hurt.

Just kidding... about a 10 mile run being my friend.  The pain is real, though.  I haven't run 10 miles in a day in a few years.  My running group goes out every Saturday and does a long run together except when there is a race.  I have been running with this group since August 2010 and this was the first time I did the long run with them.  Late bloomer I guess.

I needed this.  If I was trying to run this by myself, I would have done one of two things and possibly both.  First, I wouldn't have run this fast.  I would have averaged at least a minute slower per mile pace.  Second, I probably would have given up after 7 miles.

There were water and Gatorade stops at different points along the way and that helped tremendously.  I stopped  at all of them.  They lasted 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 2 minutes.  The first break was like a warmup stop a little after a mile.  There were 7 runners in our group.  We split up into 10 mile and 12 mile groups at the first break.  3 of us stuck together for the 10 mile run.  The second pit stop helped me catch my breath around the 4 mile mark.  Within half a mile, I told the other 2 guys that I was going to slow down a little  and for them to keep going.  I didn't want to slow them down.  By the time we hit the next break around 7 miles, I was about 300 meters behind them.  I was toast at this point.  I drank up and stretched for a total of 7 minutes.  It was a little too long of a rest, because my legs felt a little stiff when I started up again.  I tried to keep up the pace, but could not do it.  I made my way about a mile and a half to the next water break, which I didn't see until I was right on top of it.  My left calf was cramped at that point.  I knew I only had a little more to go, so I pushed on.

Because I was tired and my calf was hurting, I started to alter my form for the worse.  I am a fore foot striker and started pushing my feet forward into the ground with each step.  This made my toes start hitting the fronts of my running shoes.  Not good, because I can feel the two long ones starting to bruise.  As I type, they are already turning red.  They'll probably be purple by tonight and black tomorrow.  Good bye toenails in a couple weeks.  All in all, I have 2 bruised toes and 3 blisters.  One of the blisters was filled with blood.  Those are always cool.  I am of the faith that popping them as soon as possible is the best medicine by relieving the pressure and therefore ridding the body of pain.

I plan on heading to Track Shack today sometime and signing up for next Saturday's race - Season's 52 Park Avenue 5.2k.  It is my first time running this race and since the distance is just over 5k, I am guaranteed a PR!!!

Summary of today's long run... 10 miles.  1:41 total time on the road.  17 minutes spent at water breaks.  Total run time:  1:24 which is an average pace of 8:24.

4 x 1000m

It was cold running this evening, but the sun is starting to set later.  There was a glimmer of sunlight on the horizon as late as 6:30pm.  It will start getting warmer in a few weeks and I can run with less layers.  It was high 30's - low 40's when I was running.

I felt a little tightness in my right calf during warmups, but it went away after stretching.

Tonight, we ran 4x1000m at our goal 5k pace with 2:15 rests.  I was aiming for 4:25 each which would net me a 22:05 time in the 5k.  My actuals were:

4:11 = 6:44 mile pace = 20:55 5k
4:08 = 6:39 mile pace = 20:40 5k
4:22 = 7:02 mile pace = 21:50 5k
4:17 = 6:54 mile pace = 21:25 5k

My average time was 4:15 per kilometer.  If I kept that pace the entire 5k, my time would be 21:15 which would better my last 5k by just over a minute.  My last 5k race time was 22:17.  I should be close to matching my previous time since these times included rests.  I obviously wouldn't be able to keep that same pace the whole time.

Mile Time Trial

Today was the first day of the next session of the Track Shack Five and Dime Training Program, which means we had to run a mile time trial.  I tried not to have too many expectations since I pulled my hamstring and got sidelined for a few weeks.  I haven't quite gotten all of my speed back to the point where I was when I got hurt.

I tried to keep up with someone I normally run behind and that worked until lap 4 when he dusted me.  The sad part for me is that this guy is about 20 years older than me.  Ahhh... aspirations.

My split times were 1:25, 1:38 (3:03), 1:38 (4:41), 1:34 (6:15).  In August, I ran the time trial in 6:07.

I really need to work hard this session, but try to stay healthy, because I want to get under 6 minutes.  There's no way I am going to get under 20 minutes for the 5k without breaking the 6 minute barrier and that is my goal.

A Week without Pain

I had 3 runs this week and no pain in my left calf.  I don't know what it was, but I hope it has passed for good.

I am really surprised because we ran 3 x 4 x 400m on Tuesday.  I was sure that I was going to hurt halfway through the workout and the only pain was the burning in my thighs and lungs exacted from the track.  I remember the first set:  1:29, 1:30, 1:28, 1:26.  It wasn't my best work, but we had 2 more sets after that.  I kept all of the second set at 1:29's and 1:30's.  The third set, I ran 1:33's and 1:37's.

Thursday's workout was an easy 4.25 mile run.  I didn't stretch before or after, but I also didn't push myself that hard.  Again, no pain.

Today, I went down to the Disney / ESPN Wide World of Sports to check out the Disney Health and Fitness Expo.  It was being held for the Disney Marathon and Half Marathon.  There was a constant flow of people in and out, because it was packet pick-up for tomorrow's marathon.  I have never been to Wide World of Sports. It was a really nice facility.  They had all kinds of fields and at one end of the complex there was a track.  I went to the track and it was the nice soft spongy kind.  A sign said that there was a cross country path behind it in the woods.  That's where I went.  I don't think it is open to the public every day, because there is a gate.  After running around back in the woods though, I found that some of the path leads out to the main road.  I had no idea where I was going, because there was no map or signs.  It wasn't exactly a looped path either, but I just tried to remember what paths I was on.  There were a few workers out there driving carts and a security patrol passed me a couple times, so it was definitely safe.  I didn't see any animals, but I did notice deer tracks in different places.  That was cool.  I am not sure how much ground I covered, but I ran exactly an hour.  I think I covered around 6 miles or slightly more.  It's hard to tell when you are running on trails.  Speaking of the trails, it was a mix bag of sand, low pile grass, dirt, and a couple patches of gravel.

After finishing up my run, I cooled off in the shade near the expo.  I went inside and got a Powerade and a vegetable soup.  I didn't even know that ESPN made soup.  It was good, too.

And the reason I went down there today was to meet Arturo Barrios.  He was the 10,000m world record holder when I ran in high school, so I remember reading about him in Runner's World back in the day.  I didn't take my camera with me, so I snagged this off the net.  He was actually wearing an orange shirt like this today, too.