Running Scared
Warning to Rebecca and like-minded readers: this entry contains geekiness.
Workout from GP for the day was this:
Tempo run. Warm up 2 miles easy.....then move smoothly at 6.00 pace for 1 mile, slow to 7.30 pace for 2 minutes then return to 6.00 pace for remainder of mile.....then a very slow jog for 2 minutes......now do 8 x 20 seconds at 4.40 effort.....each followed by a 30 easy jog....after the last one, jog a very slow 2 minutes, then run 2 miles at 5.25 pace......mile cooldown
This workout seemed to fit in well into a loop around the Drives, so I drove over there this afternoon.
Basically as best I can tell all the early stuff is designed to soften me up for the crux of the workout, which is the last two miles at 5:25 pace.
I went through the early stuff easily. Two warmup miles, and then the next two miles went at or below prescribed pace. Again I am surprised at how easy 6 minute pace feels. What I have in mind as this pace is invariably a bit faster, and then I slow and it doesn't feel like nearly the effort that I feel 6 minute pace should be. I suppose this is progress. Running around the Drives I also remembered that it was the Schuylkill Loop race, back in 2001, where I ran my first sub-6 minute mile split in a road race. This was a watershed moment; it opened possibilities for me for how fast I was able to run. But it is now also a point to see how far I've come since then. I reminded myself that in CIM I ran 26.2 miles in under 6 minute pace.
The little 20 second strides I just took running as fast as I can. When I do this my mind always messes with me by asking whether this is actually as fast as I can go, or whether I can push myself harder. I'll never have an answer for this so I'll just say I took them hard, but they are such short efforts and, given the recoveries, I wasn't real winded from them.
Then there was a 2-minute recovery and the two miles that counted. What I like about GP's track and tempo workouts sofar is that he has managed to include at least one item on them that scares me, but which I realize upon finishing is within my range. It is this fear of running at my limits that I bring to these workouts, and that I then proceed to face down. Today was no exception.
So I started these last miles conscious of the fact that, with two of them at 5:25, I'd have to push it a bit faster than the last timed mile I had to run on Thursday - a 5:30 which I just missed hitting. I know now that when I run scared I run too fast, and the first of these miles was no exception. Ran a 71 second 1st quarter split when I should have run an 81. I evened out the pace somewhat to run the first mile in 5:22 and then there was one mile left. I visualized myself racing, and focused on holding pace. The pace was comfortable enough (don't get me wrong, I was huffing and puffing aplenty) to where I could get into this maintenance mindset. For the second mile, the 3/4 mark came in at 4:04, right on pace and I just gunned it for the last quarter, running a 78 to finish in another 5:22.
I was pumped. I faced down the workout and nailed it. Although this training program is only a week old at this point, I'm seeing progress. But although I'm happy I nailed this run and handled the 5:25 pace, I know I've got awhile to go. 5:25 pace translates to about a 16:40 5k, so I've got to get comfortable with a considerably faster pace to make my goal. But I trust that is on the way.
Alright. I should close with something non-geeky. Dunno what, though. I nailed the workout despite very windy conditions. On the Drives that means that there is no such thing as a tailwind. It was also chilly but not extremely cold, which you couldn't tell from most of the other people out there. They were bundled up to where, in the case of some women who were out there, the Taliban would have approved. I was in shorts and a t-shirt and felt comfortable. I got several comments about my light dress, including one that came when I was running all-out. Did the guy think I was going to answer him?
All totalled, the 8.5 mile loop went by in 56:08.
Workout from GP for the day was this:
Tempo run. Warm up 2 miles easy.....then move smoothly at 6.00 pace for 1 mile, slow to 7.30 pace for 2 minutes then return to 6.00 pace for remainder of mile.....then a very slow jog for 2 minutes......now do 8 x 20 seconds at 4.40 effort.....each followed by a 30 easy jog....after the last one, jog a very slow 2 minutes, then run 2 miles at 5.25 pace......mile cooldown
This workout seemed to fit in well into a loop around the Drives, so I drove over there this afternoon.
Basically as best I can tell all the early stuff is designed to soften me up for the crux of the workout, which is the last two miles at 5:25 pace.
I went through the early stuff easily. Two warmup miles, and then the next two miles went at or below prescribed pace. Again I am surprised at how easy 6 minute pace feels. What I have in mind as this pace is invariably a bit faster, and then I slow and it doesn't feel like nearly the effort that I feel 6 minute pace should be. I suppose this is progress. Running around the Drives I also remembered that it was the Schuylkill Loop race, back in 2001, where I ran my first sub-6 minute mile split in a road race. This was a watershed moment; it opened possibilities for me for how fast I was able to run. But it is now also a point to see how far I've come since then. I reminded myself that in CIM I ran 26.2 miles in under 6 minute pace.
The little 20 second strides I just took running as fast as I can. When I do this my mind always messes with me by asking whether this is actually as fast as I can go, or whether I can push myself harder. I'll never have an answer for this so I'll just say I took them hard, but they are such short efforts and, given the recoveries, I wasn't real winded from them.
Then there was a 2-minute recovery and the two miles that counted. What I like about GP's track and tempo workouts sofar is that he has managed to include at least one item on them that scares me, but which I realize upon finishing is within my range. It is this fear of running at my limits that I bring to these workouts, and that I then proceed to face down. Today was no exception.
So I started these last miles conscious of the fact that, with two of them at 5:25, I'd have to push it a bit faster than the last timed mile I had to run on Thursday - a 5:30 which I just missed hitting. I know now that when I run scared I run too fast, and the first of these miles was no exception. Ran a 71 second 1st quarter split when I should have run an 81. I evened out the pace somewhat to run the first mile in 5:22 and then there was one mile left. I visualized myself racing, and focused on holding pace. The pace was comfortable enough (don't get me wrong, I was huffing and puffing aplenty) to where I could get into this maintenance mindset. For the second mile, the 3/4 mark came in at 4:04, right on pace and I just gunned it for the last quarter, running a 78 to finish in another 5:22.
I was pumped. I faced down the workout and nailed it. Although this training program is only a week old at this point, I'm seeing progress. But although I'm happy I nailed this run and handled the 5:25 pace, I know I've got awhile to go. 5:25 pace translates to about a 16:40 5k, so I've got to get comfortable with a considerably faster pace to make my goal. But I trust that is on the way.
Alright. I should close with something non-geeky. Dunno what, though. I nailed the workout despite very windy conditions. On the Drives that means that there is no such thing as a tailwind. It was also chilly but not extremely cold, which you couldn't tell from most of the other people out there. They were bundled up to where, in the case of some women who were out there, the Taliban would have approved. I was in shorts and a t-shirt and felt comfortable. I got several comments about my light dress, including one that came when I was running all-out. Did the guy think I was going to answer him?
All totalled, the 8.5 mile loop went by in 56:08.
posted by seebo | 5:54 PM
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