Running in Circles

I remember in law school when Thursday nights meant Bar Review (read: copious consumption of alcohol). Before that, I remember college where Thursdays meant Thirsty Thursday (read: copious consumption of alcohol). These days, however, Thursdays mean track time (read: a brutal workout followed by a more moderate consumption of alcohol). Any of these three can leave you feeling a little beat-up the next day.

After last week's mile repeats I didn't figure it could get much more difficult, but I was wrong. Last night we had a ladder workout. That means the we started with shorter repeats but worked our way up to longer repeats and then worked our way back down again. Just based on that premise it doesn't sound too bad, huh? I forgot a couple of details though.

I think my paint skills are really progressing.

The repeats were 2x800, 2x1600, 1x3200, 2x800, 2x400--for the first seven sets (everything before the 400s) we only got a 200m rest in between. These repeats were to be done at half-marathon pace. For the final two repeats, the 400s, we got 400m of rest in between but they were to be done at 5k pace.

When it was time to divide up into pace groups there was a 6 minute group, a 6:30 group, a 7 minute group, etc. I knew I wouldn't make it if I went with the 6 minute group so I opted for the 6:30 group, even though that's a little slower than my half pace (by saying that I have probably jinxed myself for next week's half-marathon).

We started off a little fast with the first 800 in 3:04. The next one we did in 3:09. That was fine by me because that meant they were a little closer to my true HM pace. However, going into the first 1600 I began thinking about how truly short a 200m recovery is.

We did the first 1600 in 6:28--pretty much spot on. For the second one we somehow picked up the pace (I say we, but I was leading most of the time so I guess I mean me) to run 6:17. I was dreading the 3200 since I've never run that far on a track before but it wasn't too bad. We did it in 12:46 (or 6:23 pace).

Now, I forgot to mention earlier that the final set of 800s was optional. At this point most of the other guys running my pace decided to stop. Thankfully, one other runner, Ren, is as much of a glutton for punishment as I am. Of course, after doing the optional 800s (3:08, 3:07) we had to the optional 400s. I really felt myself pushing on these--1:24 and 1:25--and was thrilled to be done. At that point, however, one of the other guys who'd been running with the 7:00 minute group had one more 400 to go. Ren and I both decided to join him (what's one more 400?). I had wrongly assumed that it would be a slower lap; it wasn't. We did the final 400 in 1:23.

It was a punishing workout but that's what I was looking for when I joined the group--new challenges. I never would have made it through that workout on my own (I'm pretty sure I would have quite after the second 1600) but having other folks there to push me helped. Sadly, I was too tired afterword for beer. Next week?

East River Mile Repeats

Thursday nights are track workout nights for my running team, the Dashing Whippets. Although I've been running with them for a little over two months now, before this week I had only made it to one track workout. There are two main reasons why I haven't been to more workouts. First, when I joined, I was halfway through my marathon training plan and didn't want to switch plans midway through the cycle. Second, these workouts are at the East River Park track. While it's a pretty decent facility, it happens to be about 1.2 miles from the nearest subway. As you may remember from a previous post a good track is hard to find in Manhattan.

I really want to get faster this year so last night I sucked it up and headed to the East Village after work. I always dread track workouts (any speed work, really) and I was still sore from Tuesday's workout so I had no idea what to expect from myself. The schedule called for 4 - 6x1600m repeats at 10k pace with 400m recoveries in between. As Scott, the coach, explained, the idea is to train yourself to run tired. It's as much mental as anything else. He offered the three of us who had run Boston an alternate workout (3 - 5x1200m with 800m recoveries) but we all decided to try the 1600s.

The workout actually went pretty well. I did the first 1600 in 6:10 but felt surprisingly good. After what seemed like an incredibly short recovery I did the next one in 6:06. Scott had said that those of us still in marathon recovery could stop at 3 if we wanted so as I began the third one I paid special attention to how my legs were feeling. I did it in 6:07 and decided I felt good enough to end on a even number. It helped that one of my teammates, Tom (who also did Boston), was running at about the same pace.

For the final repeat I tried to stay on pace for the first three laps. Once I got to the 200 mark, though, I began picking it up. When I hit the final straightaway I kicked it to finish the mile in 5:57. It was definitely tiring but I was extremely happy that I stuck with it. Now I'm really looking forward to a summer of speed work.
________________
 Yesterday's Run: 7.5 miles total.