back on the wagon

in my seemingly never ending quest to get back into the groove of things, i headed out to back bay again today to put in a solid interval workout.  i had 12x400m on the schedule, so i decided to do them along the same stretch that i did last weeks 2x2mi interval workout.

ken's 400m markers again came in quite handy.  i started at the base of the memorial hill and just ran out and back, tacking on a 200m out and back recovery jog at the end of each interval.  again, i wasn't really quite sure what i'd be capable of, so i thought i'd try for somewhere around 1:35 for each one.

the first 400m fly by in 1:24 and i was a little shocked and wary of that pace.  the return 400m was a little more realistic in 1:38.  the next out was quicker, though, and the return was slower.  as i continued through the out and back routine, i quickly realized that the out had a slight downhill and the return, obviously, had a slight uphill.  i finally worked out the effort and was able to keep each of the intervals right around 1:30.  by the 12th, i was spent, but i felt fantastic.

i slowly jogged the 2 miles back to the ymca and upon completion could tell that i'd reached my limit for the day.  it feels really good to be doing these sorts of workouts again.  it's a great sensation when you feel totally spent, but strong at the end of a workout!