High-Octane

Wow, I am happy that boy was out exercising. I hope he finds a love for running and it will carry him through his life.

Great run at the track! Your times are looking great.

I wrote a research paper on the obesity problem in America and there is a plethora of problems. Affordable fast food, oversize portions, type of employment, and the list keeps going. Glad he is out trying to change!

There is no way I'm running my track workouts today. My legs have not recovered from Saturday. I'm tempted to squeeze an easy run in the mix to keep running muscles strong. What do you think?

The last 2 long runs have worn me down. I usually don't have that problem when I was running the higher mileage during the week. Wondering if the body will adjust???? BTW nice work!

Rye,

I'm by no means any expert on this training but with my little knowledge I would strongly suggest "not" running today. If your running muscles are tire all you will do is stress them more. I suggest you either take the day off or cross-train (bike) to exercise some different muscles. I would then run the Intervals on Tuesday at 6:30 pace. By Thursday you should be ready for your Tempo run.

I really believe you can do this and your body will adapt. I had several "bad" workouts last time and it seemed I would always bounce back. There is nothing wrong with backing off the intensity a little to give your body time to recover.

"Runners are told to listen to their bodies. Recognizing the signs and symptoms of overtraining...Rest and recovery are essential to help you counteract the fatigue created by the training overload, which in itself is necessary for adaptation."

Quoted from RLRF book.

Bec,

I hope so too but he didn't look like he was having much fun right then.

Thanks for the encouragment, next time I do this run I'm going to shoot for all 5:??'s :-)

IRJ - something does not add up for me. Anyone who can go out and run 6:00 mile repeats should easily be able to break 20:00 in a 5k. In fact, one of the best signs of what one can do in a 5 k is to rum mile repeats at 5 k pace. Our group runs mile repeats with a 2 min recovery, too. We do run on a loop with a couple hills and not on a track, but I don't think I have ever run them faster than 5:50, usually around 5:55 - and that is generally what my 5k paces have been. If you can run 6:03's that works out to an 18:47 5k. I am trying to figure out why you can absolutely kill these workouts but can't break 20:00. What do you think it is that holds you back during a race - leg strength or VO2? That is, what hurts worse?

As far as obesity, like a lot of things, it all starts with the parents. I was walking into a What-a-burger to get a gift card (my friend loves the place, I have never nor would I ever eat there) and a family walks out. The boy is probably 12 and way overweight holding a 32oz or larger soda cup. Go figure. That's probably 500 calories just in his drink. Mom and Dad look exactly the same as the son. The daughter was a lot younger so not over weight yet, but I can see it coming.

DH,

I know it's my Vo2 Max holding me back. Remember back when I thought that was my strong point, well it's not :-( Even at the end of a mile repeat I can basiclly kick it and really pick up the speed but I'm just gasping for air. Sometimes I think I should just hold my breath the last 200 so I'm not worried about breathing. My HR maxes out at about 178-180 too. Maybe it's just old age or maybe it's something else, I just don't know.

Very Impressive! We are doing this same workout on Wednesday. I will in no way have the same speed as you, I am hoping for a solid 5K pace.

I think diet has so much to do with our problems and I am not the best example. However, the bigger issue is lifestyle. My two teenagers are extremely active and both play competitive sports at a high level and cannot eat enough to maintain a healthy weight. My two pre-teens, are much more sedentary and while neither one are over weight the both are a little more "pudgier".

I have been active all my life and while I would like to lose the last 15 lbs I have been gifted by my kids, I am in no way heavy or over weight. My husband played ball in college, but other than that was never active and did not have a good example and does not enjoy exercise and I worry constantly about his health.

I believe if you are active, the healthy diet is much easier to maintain.

Great repeats. Although I severely disagree with DH about Whataburger (I eat there at least once a week) I have also thought your 5k should be a lot faster. The only thing I can think of is maybe jog the recoveries if you are doing standing rest. That way you are staying in the zone and training your body to run for 5k or 10k instead of training yourself to run a good 1600m, or 800m, etc.

Then again, I know you are following the program, and I would trust someone who wrote a successful book more than a guy who just took up running less than 3 years ago!

Still impressed how you can crank out all those workouts. 2/week is killing me right now!

Thanks Jody and Joe,

I too like Whataburger but didn't say anything because I didn't want that to come inbetween DH and my friendship :-)

Joe, you're right on the recovery. I'm taking too long between the sets. If I stuck exactly to the 1 min. rest things would be much different. That extra minute makes a world of difference. Hopefully I'll be able to cut it out at some point in the future.

Blue Bell, mmmmm. :) Can't get enough of that Texas ice-cream. Obesity is caused by Blue Bell.

That is why I run.

Great track work! I am not sure if you know, but your 'rests' in between - 50% of your recovery is in the first 30 seconds. I am not saying you should shorten them, but letting you the biggest chunk is that first 30 so you *may* not need as long as you think.

Also with DH- you should kill a 5K, gonna have work that VO2

I know I need to take less time. I'm going to work on that but its so blasted hot (sorry that's an excuse).

I'm always amazed how fast you can do your intervals from 400m-1600m. I still think you should find some 400/800 races for masters runners. I think you could do great.

One question, are you running a pretty even pace throughout the 4 laps on those 1600s. Or running about 10-15 second slower ave. pace/mile for the first 3 then using your blazing speed to kill that last 400 especially the last 200?

Dave,

I try to run them at a consistant speed. I went back on my garmin and the first varied (by quarter) 128-131, my second varied (by quarter) 127-134 my last varied (by quarter) 129-135. The third lap is where I usually have the highest drift.