« The "Magic Number" | Main | Smurfin' It Up - River to River Relay 2006 »

April 11, 2006

Superfast

Stride workout today!

I absolutely love love love this workout - of all the different things the coach has introduced into my routine, this is easily the favorite. It's a 2 mile warm-up, followed by 10-12 intervals of 30 seconds at/below 5K pace with 1 minute of recovery, then a 1-2 mile cool-down. I like it because 30 seconds isn't all that long, so I can really push the pace, and it's fun to go flying super-fast like that. I love it.

Since I'd done my 60-second intervals last week at an 8:34 average pace while running outside, I figured I'd start these bad boys today at an 8:00 pace on the treadmill, and see how far I got. I figured I'd go until my legs were wiped out, and then I'd bring the speed down to 8:15 - 8:30 for however many intervals I had left.

I never brought the pace down. I did all 12 and the 8:00 pace, and while my legs felt a little tired, they didn't feel totally tapped out. I could have done more. I could have run at that pace for longer than 30 seconds, easily. In short, I kicked serious ass.

I've always said that when it comes to running, I have absolutely no natural talent or speed - I'm just stubborn enough to keep on going. I'm starting to think, though, that I can learn how to run fast, as long as I stay stubborn enough to keep pushing myself.

Posted by Dawn at April 11, 2006 08:07 AM