Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Finally - a Good Workout

Sorry I missed my post on Monday. I guess I took "rest day" to heart. In fact, I was in bed asleep by 7:30 Monday night. Yes - you read that right. It has been years since I got 10 hours of sleep in a single night. It was very nice. It sucks getting old. Oh wait - we're supposed to need less sleep the older we get? I did get some time to read and comment on a bunch of blogs that had been backing up in my queue, so not all was lost.

All good things must come to an end though, and I did get out for last night's training session. I say "training session" instead of run because that is what it was. I hit the Corona del Mar High School track for a three and a half mile warm up, 6 X 800 yard intervals with 400 yard rest step, and a 1 mile warm down for a total of nine miles. That's like 36 laps. I used the Magic Shoe 5K course to get in most of the warm up in before running in circles. So I think I ended up running only 22 laps around the track.

It wasn't long before I started to worry about this workout. I was well rested, but had trouble getting to a good aerobic heart rate without sucking wind during the warm up. Once I was on the track though, everything started clicking. The goal was to run each 800 at 10K pace, somewhere between 8:30 and 9:00. I ran by feel for the most part, just checking with the Garmin to make sure it said "10K" on the goal screen. I actually had to slow down a couple of times. In the end I ran the most consistent set of intervals I ever have:

Interval 1: 4:15
Interval 2: 4:16
Interval 3: 4:14
Interval 4: 4:15
Interval 5: 4:17
Interval 6: 4:24 (obviously tiring here)

Two things struck me about this session: (1) The runs were for the most part effortless. After checking my heart rate data this is evident - I barely made it into LT zone (greater than 88% max heart rate); and (2) All of these times are at the lower end of my current 10K range. Maybe all those aerobic miles are starting to pay off.

Now I get to really rest. No more running until Saturday (well, maybe Friday morning I'll try to sneak in a quick 6 miler). I'll be climbing on a plane later this morning for a whirlwind trip to El Paso TX. The only running I'll be doing is from air conditioned building to air conditioned building. Weather forecast for today? 106 and thunderstorms. I have post for either tomorrow or day after regarding lactate training, so stay tuned!

11 comments:

  1. Nice job!!! Ahh I must say, im a tiny bit jealous that you get a little break :)

    Have fun!!

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  2. Don't you love when training pays off? Well done sir!
    Now get your rest on. ;)

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  3. thanks for the link to middle of the pack girl. i am going to really enjoy reading about her experience in the race. I love reading race reports for races that i ran in!

    I am taking lots of rest days now, although i am hating every minute of it because my knee is still bothering me. i tried 2 miles this morning and barely made it. I think its runners knee but the symptoms are not exact. The only thing i know for sure is that after my race sunday it hurt to bend my knee like in a squat position.

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  4. The intervals are pretty impressive, especially as they were effortless.

    The fact that you slept for 10 hours definitely means you need a rest ;-)

    Have a great trip

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  5. Great job as usual. Glad it was good, those make running so worth it.

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  6. Wow- those are FAST intervals. That is impressive! Glad you got some good rest in. I know how it is- I hardly ever get good sleep these days. Christine

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  7. i'll take a cruddy warmup as long as the 'meat' of the workout goes well! nice job on the 800s glenn! very consistent, up until that last one of course, but you hung in there.

    i'm pretty sure we still need just as much sleep if not more :) i find myself quite tired these days, :-/

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  8. Hey, if you can get your Garmin working indoors, see what pace you can hit on one of those airport speedwalks. I'm curious :P.

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  9. I do get a 10hr sleep every now and then. It makes a world of difference!

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  10. What does it say about your current level of fitness when you intend to 'sneak in' 6 whole miles?!

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  11. Excellent job, Glenn! Love those good workouts!

    Hope you are having a fantastic weekend!

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