Run Buffs Run!

Long run for the week with my coach today. We ran in Daniels Park, and got a good workout in. My IT band was hurting a bit, so we ended up running loops on a grassy field at the end, which definitely seemed to dull the pain. Good run!

Really easy run today all on dirt/grass to help heal the IT band. I also did some strides to keep sharp, which actually seemed to help loosen up my leg and make it feel better. I did some core strength drills later, and used the foam roller for a ridiculous sum of time.

Today was a threshold run. The workout was 20 mins at threshold pace, two minutes of rest, then a final mile at threshold pace. The target pace was 5:32/mile. I started slow, mainly because I always tend to go out too fast on these runs, shooting myself in the foot early on. I ran the first mile in 5:30 (approx.), two miles in 11:00 flat, three miles in 16:22, three and one half in 18:50, and another minute at the same pace. After a two minute rest, I ran a mile in 5:26. This type of workout is weird in a way. The objective is to work at the peak of aerobic ability, without ever going "anaerobic". This is a hard line to draw, but if you go by feel, it is much easier to determine correct pacing. All too often, an AT run is mistaken for a speed workout. This ends up working a completely different energy system, eliminating the whole point of a threshold run. Ok, don't really know where that came from. I did 8x150 meter strides afterward, and did a good cooldown. My leg hurt a bit at the beginning, but as time went on it stretched out and did not hurt too bad. Overall, the run felt really good!

Medium-long run today at steady pace. I ran out about four miles to Redstone Park, did some laps on a grassy field (to give the leg a break), then trecked the four miles back. I felt pretty good, finishing faster than when I started. Tommorrow will be easy...ahh.

Today was a very easy day with some strides in the middle. My IT band is still a bit tight, but overall, has imporved over the last few days.

Economy run today! I did a twenty minute warm up, some moving stretches, then hit the workout. I was scheduled to do 20x200 meters at 33-34 second pace. My coach broke the workout into four separate sets of five intervals. After each interval I had 200 meters of recovery, and after each set I had 400 meters of recovery. There was a bit of wind, which I could really feel on the backstretch of the track. I started out fast (29 secs) on the first few, but slowed to 31 second pace after the first three. After this I seemed to get into a rythmn, gulping down the rest of the workout between 30 and 31 second pace (highest was 31.7). On the last set I kept below 31 the whole time and ran the last interval in 29 again. I am happy with this workout, mainly because in my last season I had to struggle to get 33-34 on the last two sets (and I could only break 30 within the first repeat or two). My coach seems to think that I could run around 27 if I get a good split in, so maybe I'll just have to try that some time. This workout definitely helps "numb" your body to fast pace. For me, this skewes my perception of speed. Ask me earlier this season what would be considered fast, and it would be much different than what I would say after a workout of this type. I have a rest day tommorrow!!!