5 x 1K Intervals
I don’t know how much time I’ll have to run tomorrow, so rather than doing my 3 mile basic today I did my 5 miles of speedwork. That gives me three (relatively) hard days in a row, but it doesn’t feel too bad. It was pretty late when I got done with work, so I visited the too-hot-as-always hotel treadmills for some 1km intervals. My McMillan sheet has me doing them in 4:20 for a 7:00 pace. I started out with a half mile warmup at 9:30, did some ITB stretching, then got into it.
The first two were pretty easy. Since I’m still getting back into speedwork, I did the approved 4:20 cooldown between each one - jogging and stretching. At first I was wondering if I was only going to do three, since it was pretty late, but even after that one my breathing was alright (a comfortable 2/2 in the last minute) and my HR was only hitting the low 160s. The fourth one was harder, with my breathing breaking down a little in the last 30 seconds - while I was running it, I told myself that it might well be my last one, especially since that’s the signal I normally use to cut it short. I considered it during the downtime, then went for my fifth one anyway - figuring that even if I only did 3:00 it would still be better than nothing. It was hard, but not too hard, at the end. I could probably have done six in fact, but I wasn’t going to push it (and it was getting pretty late by that point).
A little more stretching, then a cooldown run at between 9:30 and 8:00 paces (intermittent variations to defray boredom) until I hit 5 miles total, then more stretching, then home. All in all, a fun workout. I find it interesting that my lungs are definately worse off than my heart at the moment - I wonder if there’s anything that I can do to target them … then again, maybe I already am.
Tomorrow, I just have to work in three miles before I leave for Vegas. If I get some weights in, so much the better. My current vague plan is to try to get some 400m intervals in on Thursday, and some 800s on next Tuesday, then no more speedwork until my 10k next Sunday. I hope that I can hit my goal, but either way it looks like a solid PR is in the bag.
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Sep 28th 2004
4:58 AM
Great, Richard. Isn’t it gratifying to be recovering so well after being injured? Super!
Sep 28th 2004
7:33 AM
Thanks Susan - I’m just trying to do my best.
Sep 28th 2004
9:32 AM
That’s a good workout Richard. Nice job. Has that injury given you any twinges lately or is it pretty good?
Sep 28th 2004
9:48 AM
My MCL is pretty much healed. My knees are still a little tender, especially the left one, from ramping my mileage up too quickly. Still, last week was the most aggressive jump I’ve done, and my knee is still getting better, so I think its alright. If its not completely healed in a month I’ll - well, I don’t know, but I’ll do something.
Sep 28th 2004
2:33 PM
That’s excellent Richard. Good to hear!