« Week in Review: 2/13 - 2/19 | Main | Starting From Scratch »

February 21, 2006

Speed!

Well, it's been kind of a crappy week around here in Dawnie land. Crap at work, crap at home, and, on top of it all, crappy runs. My runs on Thursday and Saturday felt awful and dragged on forever, and I totally missed my long run on Sunday due to the aforementioned crap at home. (Well, it was actually due to a meltdown inspired by the crap at home, but whatever.) Yesterday was a step in the right direction as far as crap reduction went, but this morning's run? Was not only totally awesome, it convinced me that the crap is behind me, and it is time to move on to bigger and better things.

I got the next phase of my training from my coach, and, according to my spreadsheet, we've moved from "base" to "speed". This morning's workout? Was not just a plain old 4 or 5 slow and easy miles. No, it was a speed workout! The plan was this: 2 mile warm-up, then 30 seconds at 5k pace (or faster!) followed by a one-minute recovery. After 8 of those, 2 miles to cool down. Happily, my Forerunner does interval timing, so I took that and set it on the console of the treadmill so I wouldn't have to keep track of time and when to change my speeds and whatnot. (It also tells you when you're all done with your repeats! I love gadgets that let me run without thinking, since, in my book, running with thinking partially defeats the purpose.)

I was a little concerned - I've been running slow for kind of a while now, so I was sort of worried that I wouldn't be able to run fast anymore. 5k pace for me is right around 9:30, and, for comparison, all of my runs for the past month have been at 12:00 or slower. However, I figured I'd just go for it. Worst-case scenario? I have to slow the speedy intervals down a little until I get my footing, and work up to 5k pace.

However, when it came time for that first burst of speed? I was pleasantly surprised. I dialed the treadmill up to 6.4 (9:22), and it was like nothing! The 30 seconds was over before I knew it. Not only was I not struggling to keep up, I felt relaxed and loose. I was also sort of expecting my heart rate to shoot through the roof, but it didn't. Instead, it worked up to 180 or so and then just... stayed there.

I did the next 3 repeats at the same pace, but then decided to crank it up a bit. After all, it wasn't feeling especially hard, and it was only 30 seconds, right? I did the next two at 6.5 (9:14). Then the next one at 6.6 (9:05). For the last one, I was still feeling pretty good, so I went for it. I set the treadmill at 6.7 (8:57). It felt great, although it was hard enough that I was glad I didn't try to do all 8 intervals at that pace. Still, it was an awesome feeling to just be able to let the legs fly after running so controlled for the past month.

By the end of the cool down, my legs were feeling a little tired, but not to the point where I was totally wiped when I finished. I expected to finish the workout feeling like it had kicked my ass - instead, I felt great. It woke me up and got my day off to a great start.

The best part? This is my new Tuesday morning routine for the next few weeks.

Posted by Dawn at February 21, 2006 04:56 PM

Comments

Posted by: Simba's Mom at February 21, 2006 05:56 PM