Mile Repeats or Should I Say Mile ReHeats

Started today's speedwork with 1.75 miles as a warmup and 4 x 100m striders.  Felt great so far considering how hot it was.  How hot?  As someone mentioned today, "It feels like a hair dryer out there."  Yeah, exactly like that.  The wind was blowing a little and it was hot air.  It was around 95 degrees on the track.  I wonder how hot it was directly in the sun.  I would guess in the range of 100-105.

The workout:  3 x 1 mile repeats.  Thank goodness we got a little cloud cover after the second repeat.  It was still hot, but it was almost like being in the shade.

I ran 7:05, 7:19, and 7:20.  My goal was to run 7:00 miles.  I didn't really push myself too hard.  I wanted to make my times, but I was really concentrating on my stride and overall form.  Getting a good toe off and knee drive.  Relaxing my arms and not worrying about keeping them at a 90 degree angle.  I was good about that part, but I did have to remind myself a couple times during each repeat that I needed to have a forward lean, which improved my speed immediately (if only short lived).

I wish I was better at labeling my posts.  I wanted to look up my past mile repeat workouts and compare my times.  I only used "mile repeats" once in labels.  I did a search, too, and that didn't find anything.  I can't believe I haven't blogged any of those workouts.  I have to do a better job of not skipping my posts.

Heat, Pain Pills, Dehydration... Something Didn't Want Me Running Today

I pulled my back on Sunday.  It was stiff, so I tried stretching it.  That's when I pulled something.  I've been here before and it's never pleasant.  This is when I start double dosing the Aleve's.  It usually takes 3-4 days to get back to normal this way.  Without taking anything, it takes 1-2 weeks.

Well, when you throw that into the mix of heat and being dehydrated (over caffeinated), things aren't going to go well.

The prescribed workout this afternoon was 4 to 5 sets of the following:  run an 800 at 5k race pace, 45 second rest, run 400 hard and rest for 3 minutes.  I made all of my goal times through the first 3 sets.  About a minute into the third rest, I started feeling light headed.  I hoped it would go away, but I just felt a little out of it.  I had enough energy to continue my workout, but didn't want to push it with the way my head was feeling.  I went over to a nearby Oak tree and set down in the shade for about 10 minutes.  That did the trick, but I was done for the day.

Hopefully, this back pain and stiffness will be gone by Thursday's workout.

In the meantime, here are a couple pics from the Lake Mary 5K.

If I remember correctly, this was about 1.25 miles since that is when the course overlaps for a bit
and I hadn't taken my shirt off yet.  I just happened to look at the photographer at the right time...
even though I look mad, I'm not. I actually don't even remember seeing someone taking pictures.

I am on the left with my 2nd place 35-39 Age Group medal.
In the middle is the 1st place AG winner and 3rd place on the right.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Run, Burrito, and Beers!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  Got my run done, ate a delicious chicken burrito, and I am now enjoying beer.  It's English Brown Ale, but close enough.

The new shoes are still doing me right.  I love the smell of new shoes and they still have that scent.  Who knows how long it will last, but you have to enjoy it while you can.

Today's workout was pretty quick.  6 to 8 reps of 600 meters run at 5k goal pace.  I definitely ran them too fast.  The shorter the distance, the faster I run.  Some people like to run long and smooth.  I like to run quick.  Sometimes I run slow; sometimes I run quick... quick... quick.

I did the first 2 reps at 2:15.  That's exactly 6 minute mile pace or 18:45 for a 5k.  That is way faster than my goal pace.  I felt good and strong on the next 2, but my right calf started tightening up towards the end of rep number 4.  I started feeling pain during 5 and I made number 6 my last since I didn't want to pull anything.

I did extra stretching on my calves for good measure and I am now wearing my handy dandy Recovery Socks to make sure everything is back to normal for the I Drive 5K Run on Saturday morning.

That's the roundup for today.  Happy Cinco Day!  I'm ready for another Newcastle and then it's time to hit the sack.  It's Ride Your Bike To Work Day tomorrow and there should be a good turnout riding with the Orlando Mayor in the morning.

800 Repeats, Pain in my Knee, and Why so much food?

What kind of things do I need to remember about today?

Pain in my right knee for most of the workout and definitely after the workout.  Talked to Mike since he came from a cycling background.  I told him that the knee pain only started once I got back on my bike regularly.  He said that it is possible that my saddle may be too low.  He said that my knee should only be slightly bent.  Not straight and fully extended, either.  I will have to check on this and make an adjustment if necessary.

Cliche:  Pain is temporary.  Pride is forever.  Gotta remember this when my legs feel heavy, there's a sidesticker making it hard to breath, my head feels like it is going to pop, and my arms are tingling.  I gave up on my last repeat tonight.  I was hurting, but was there more?  There's always more.  Always.  Unless you're on the floor.

Don't let the King be the Winner!  I went to Burger King an hour post workout.  I ordered and devoured

a BK Double Stacker (I love the sauce they use),

small french fries,

small Coke,

and the clincher... a BK Fish sandwich.

Did I really need the fish sandwich, too?  The King made me do it.  I will be stronger next time.  Approximately 1900 calories.  BMI just went up 1pt.  I can feel it.  This is gonna need some extra laps on the next workout.

And the workout...

3 laps around the track on my own (.75 mile)
1 mile loop around the neighborhood
Stretching and then 4 x 100 striders

6 x 800 repeats @ 4-7 seconds faster than 5k goal pace (3:20-3:25)
I ran 3:19, 3:20, 3:19, 3:26 (missed by 1 second), 3:21, 3:44 (refer to 2nd paragraph above ^ beginning with Cliche.)

Did some breathing exercises and slow stretching at home a few hours after the workout.

Speed Work... of the 1000 and 200 Kind

I won't be running the House of Hope Run Around the Pines 5k this Saturday in Winter Park, but it is the last 5k of the Track Shack Grand Prix Series for 2010-2011.  That being said, Coach Nathan is gearing us up for the race.  I anticipate being in Miami for the weekend or at least part of it.

4 x 1000 at our goal 5k race pace with 2 minute rests and then 6 x 200 at Fast.  What's fast?  Not quite sprinting, but close enough to wind you afterward.

On the 1 km's, I was shooting for 4:20, which is just over 21:30 for a 5k.  I ran them in 4:03, 4:06, 4:06, 4:15.  Keeping that average pace would net a 20:43.  I could live with that.  Not going to happen just yet, though.

On the 200's, I am not sure what my times were.  I clocked the first one and it was a :37, which wasn't that exciting to see when I looked at my watch.  The rest period between reps on these was 45 seconds, which I abided except on one that I took a 55.  Considering what my time was on the first rep, I am pretty sure that I kept it under 40 on all of them.  I had to be very careful not to push myself too hard, because 200's is what we were running when I pulled my hamstring this past October.  Their so easy to run that sometimes I get carried away and just letting loose.  Not today, so everything is intact.

Good Speed Session on the Track

I didn't break any world records or anything, but I did have a good night on the track.  We ran 6x800's and our coach was asking for mile pace or maybe 3-4 seconds slower.  My last mile for time was 6:15, so my 800 time is 3:08.

I'm thinking there is no way that I am running that many at that speed.   And of course, I didn't, but I had a good time trying and what I felt was a strong showing.

After running that 10 miler this Sunday, I felt stronger doing this workout.  My legs felt really good, too.  I took long, graceful strides (at least in my mind) instead of short, choppy ones (which is what I do when I'm in pain).

So 3:08's or 3-4 seconds slower.  I got 2 of those out of 8 tries.  The times:

3:13, 3:17, 3:12, 3:11, 3:14, 3:21

I dogged that last one.  I started strong like the others for the first 200 of it and went strong down the final stretch, but everything between was heavy tromping like Goofy.

The what-if guy in my head wants to know what I would have run without the 2 minute rests between reps and stretch it out to a full 5k... it's a 20:10.  I would be happy with that right now.

800's Tonight

Ran 2.5 miles for a warmup since it was chilly.  1.5 was on my own and then 1 mile with the group.  Did some stretching and skipped the usual striders while I took my time taking off my warmup shirt and pants.

The workout was supposed to be 4 sets of 2x800 @ 5k pace and slightly faster with 200 recovery between reps and 3 minutes rest between sets.  I decided not to kill myself by trying to run everyone else's 5k speed.  I didn't have a stop watch on me, so I don't know how fast I was running.  I just kept reminding myself that I am running a 5k and pushing it.  With each half mile rep, I lost ground on the pack.  By the time I started my 3rd set, I was only 100 meters from getting lapped by the leaders.  Coach Nathan was running with us tonight.  When he passed me on my jog between 800's, he told me to stop at 3 sets.

Fine by me.  My lungs were starting to seize up from the air.  Not cold by many standards, but it was cold for my Floridian blood.  It ended up taking about an hour and a half before my breathing came back to normal.

The entire workout, I tried to lift my left leg to get a little more drive and pushed off a little more to get better extension.  My main goal was to stop that hamstring from hurting and it worked fairly well.  It's hard to run when you are either in pain or if you are trying to tweak your form.  I hope this works out and in the future, I can have smoother form and then I can concentrate more on my pace.  I have to do something, though.  Otherwise, my left hamstring is tight and sore for 2 days after each workout.

I finished off my workout with 4 more laps around the track.

Total mileage:  7 miles

First Real Day Back

Tonight was my first real speed workout since injuring my hamstring.  I ran too fast at the beginning, but I don't care.  It felt great to run fast with confidence and not feel my hamstring tugging as my leg extended through the push off and into the kick.  I cut my workout a little short, because I was out of shape for what I tried to accomplish.

I started with a 2.5 mile warmup.  It was cold; mid 40's.  That's cold in Orlando, so I just did a little extra to keep warm.  We then stretched and did our 4 x 100 striders.  I then took off my warmup pants and one of my 3 shirts.

The actual workout was 2 sets of 5 x Go 600's.  That's the 400 @ 5k pace and go for it on the last 200.  I started the first set by running 1:29 and 1:30 through the first 400 and then finished up in 2:14, 2:12, and 2:14.  I was already spent, but it felt great.  I was running the 400's at mile pace, which for me is nowhere near my 5k pace.  I should have been running the 400 portions around 1:45.  For the 4th rep, I ran closer to my 5k pace and finished around 2:42 or 2:45.  I don't remember exactly, but I dogged it.  I was having a hard time breathing.  I was way into oxygen debt and actually slowed down through the second 300 half of the rep.  Coach told me to stay back on the 5th rep and rest.

I did my normal rest like everyone else.  He gave us 3 minutes between sets, so I did the 1st rep by myself with no timekeeping.  I definitely went back to running too fast again.  It felt great, though.  I ran the rest with the group after that.  On my last rep, it was everyone else's second to last, so I had more in the tank so to speak.  You always have a little when you know it's your last run.  When my pack came around the 400 mark, coach yells out to us and says something like who is going to make a move and push the group.  Since it was my last one, I went for it.  I bolted by everyone in my pack and got close to the lead pack.  Oddly enough, my time was 2:14 which is what I ran when I started.

That was it for me.  I was totally wiped out, but I got the 1.25 mile cooldown logged, too.

Down Ladder Workout - Tuesday

Ladder Workout - Interval workout with a systematic progression.  This is more easily understand with examples.  Any distances can be used such as 400, 600, 800, 1000, 800, 600, 400.  You would run the 400's at mile pace, the 600's slightly slower, the 800's at 5k pace, and the 1000 at 10k pace or slightly faster.  I used to run a lot of these in high school on the track team.  We would specifically call these Up and Down Ladders.  We broke our ladder defitions down to also include an Up Ladder workout and a Down Ladder workout.  The Up Ladder workout would be short distances at faster speeds increasing in distance and slowing in speed as the workout progresses.  An example would be something like 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200.  My group's workout on Tuesday was a Down Ladder.  This is the opposite of the Up Ladder.  You start at longer distances and increase speed with shorter distances as the workout progresses.

Since I didn't run this weekend, I decided to start warming up early.  I jogged 1.5 miles before the group warmup.  I jogged another mile and then the usual 4 x 100 striders to loosen up.

Here was our Down Ladder workout.

2 x 1000 (@ 10k goal pace)
4 x 800 (@ 5k goal pace)
4 x 400 (@ 1 mile goal pace)

between each repetition, 200 jog recovery
between each set, 3 minute rest

I ran the first set of 1000's a little fast.  I don't remember my splits though.  I know I was about 10 seconds faster than my goal and the second was 1 second faster or slower than the first rep.

The 800's were much faster than my goal pace.  I think my goal was 3:45 before we started.  The first was 3:15 and I could tell that was too fast.  I hit the rest in 3:21, 3:24, and 3:20.  I posted the times on DailyMile.com and the first one was wrong.  I remembered now that I ran that first one just behind Jonny and he did a 3:14.  That's a virtual 2 mile time of 13:20.

The 400's were brutal as they should be.  They are fast and I was supposed to start jogging immediately after finishing each one, but I had to stop for a few seconds after each one to catch my breath.  I was obviously overachieving.  I ran them in 1:21, 1:26, 1:21, 1:35.  I started cramping and couldn't control my breathing on the last one, but it was only a 400, so I pushed through it.  I don't think I could have kept going if it was an 800 or more.  Then again, I wouldn't have run that fast if it was an 800.  That's a virtual mile time of 5:43.  I can't believe that I used to run those pretty easily in high school.  I ran a 6:07 at the time trial a couple months ago.  I would think that I would be getting close to 5:43 without rest or recoveries, but I guess that I am not taking into account that this was at the end of the workout.  At least, that's what I am hoping is the case.

My times are coming down along with the temperatures.  This was a great workout!

Thank you Tropical Depression 16

Rain, all afternoon and all night.  That was the forecast yesterday.  I wish I had a camera to prove it, because it was around 3:30pm when the storm first hit and it looked like night outside.  The rain never stopped and we practiced on time at 6pm.  I do not like running in the rain.  I mean, it's great for keeping you cooled off, but your clothes and shoes get heavy.  Running in puddles slows you down and can tire you out faster, too.

I don't know what I was thinking, but I didn't bring my watch to practice and I tried to keep up with someone that runs a few minutes faster than me in a 5k.  The workout was 800, 600, and 400 with 200 recoveries.  Goal pace was 10k speed on the 800, 3 to 4 seconds faster per lap on the 600, and then 3 to 4 more seconds faster per lap on the 400.  We did 4 sets and got a 3 minute break between sets.  If I ran it at my actual 10k goal pace, this would have been a cake walk.  I went out and tried to run it faster than my own 5k pace.

I don't remember the exact times, but it was way too fast for me.  I ran the first set and was definitely winded.  I started the second set and I completed the 800 around the same time as the first set.  I only got a lap of the 600 complete before I was so out of breath that I couldn't keep going.  I went into my recovery 200 at that point and then finished up the 400.  I changed my goal speeds on the last 2 sets and was able to complete the workout.  I revved up the last 400 and did that one in 1:23, which was around the speed I did the first one.

It was a great workout and today, I had to pop Aleve just to get to work.  Even with pain pills, I am still sore and limping when I get out of my chair.

Finishing Speed Work

Finishing Speed.  This is your kick at the end of a race.  Depending on the distance being run, this can be the last quarter mile or 200 yards of a 5k or even the last whole mile of a marathon.

The way to work on your kick or finishing speed is to work on shorter distance at the end of your workout.  For a 5k workout which is what I am concentrating on, you should run a few miles at moderate to tempo speed and then finish up with 100's, 200's, or 440's.  The meat of the workout can be just a couple miles.  You are only trying to tire yourself out before the sprint portions at the end.

For my workout yesterday afternoon, I warmed up with 1.25 miles at a slow pace.  Then, I tired my legs with 2 x 880 in 3:08 and 3:11 respectively.  My goal for these was to run them within 3:15.  Check.

To work on my finishing speed, I ran 4 x 220 with 110 recoveries.  I haven't run 220's in awhile, so I wasn't sure how much to give.  I ran a 44 on the first one, which is barely faster than the speed I ran on the 880's.  Time to leave a little more on the track.  I followed that up with 38, 37, and a 34.  I can hardly believe that I used to run these in the mid 20's during track practice in high school... and a lot more of them.

It felt great to get some real fast turnover during a workout.