Today was interval day with the Gazelles, and I did not produce the kind of numbers I was looking for. Still, the conditions were a little different the last time I did speedwork by myself.

We started out like last time, running over to AHS from RunTex; this time we kept at a 9:05 pace, which I was able to do at 4-4 breathing for more than a mile before dropping to 3-3. Then we did the standard 700m worth of drills. Then we rested for all of 3 minutes while Gilbert laid out the plan for the day. Those of us who are racing on Saturday were told to do 8 400s at 70-80% effort. He stressed that he didn’t want to see us breathing too hard when we came around. We took a minute to rest (slow jogging) between each set. My times? These may be a little off, there were a couple of times where I didn’t stop my watch right at the end and had to take a second or two off - my coach has the real ones, these should be pretty close:

Time: 1:44 - 1:47 - 1:49 - 1:48 - 1:51 - 1:47 - 1:51 - 1:48
Pace: 6:58 - 7:10 - 7:19 - 7:15 - 7:27 - 7:10 - 7:27 - 7:15

It was all I could do not to go faster, especially when I saw the first 1:51, but that would have meant going too hard. Gilbert told me not to worry so much about my times, but when most of the other folk are turning in 1:15-1:30 times, its a little annoying! Still, that’s why I’m here. Some of them have been training with Gilbert, or other coaches, for many years now.

Once those were done, we did a cooldown lap and got some water. Then he told us to do three 200s, doing butt-kicks the whole way. So butt-kick 200, then jog 200, repeat three times. My calves had been getting sore halfway through the 400 laps starting at about lap 5, and they definately complained about these. Still, as they say, pain is simply weakness leaving the body.

After those were done and most of the runners had left, I asked Gilbert about my calf pain. He asked to see me run again (sigh…) so I did a couple of 50m jogs for him. That’s when he told me that I hold my upper body too tensely. I need to work on relaxing, and on using my arms more naturally. Because of this, my posture gets a little off and I have more of an impact with the ground when I run, which is keeping my calves sore. Cool; that’s good to know. He also stressed the importance of the butt-kick and high-knee exercises, saying that they would help to really fix my stride problems.

With that, I ran back to my car. I was trying different arm swings, and could definately feel some differences - it really did make running easier. I managed the run back in a comfortable 15:39 for a 9:40 return pace. Add lots of stretching, then head for the office.

Total distance: 7.75 miles

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