I knew today's workout was going to be pretty tough. The plan was a "cut-down" tempo run of 4M starting at 5:16 and dropping 8 seconds each mile to 5:08; 5:00 and 4:52-54.
It was 75 degrees and clear sunny skies. There was actually a touch of humidity as the heat index was at 78. Good practice for Duluth next month.
After a 2-mile warmup I jumped right into the 4-mile tempo. The 5:16 felt awesome as did the 5:08. Nailed them both as planned. The first lap of the 5:00 was right on as well. As I started the second lap, I grabbed the water bottle I had set at arm level along the side of the track. It was here that I learned a tremendous lesson. I never take water when I am running at 5:00 pace. The only races I run at that pace are the 5k and 10k and I never take water in a race that short. So I have virtually no experience taking water at the speed. When I took the water I took a big gulp and about three swallows later it was all gone. However, I didn't breath during that entire time which put me anaerobic very quickly which caused the lactic acid to peak and my legs instantly tightened and felt lethargic. It was the weirdest feeling. I had felt it a bit before during the previous workout when I was running at marathon pace and took water twice but not nearly as dramatically. My first lap of the 5:00 mile was a whopping three seconds slow. I managed a 5:05 for the mile but once I went anaerobic, recovery from that was almost impossible. Mile 4 was very challenging and it took everything I had to hit 4:59 missing my time but 5-7 seconds. Ouch. I was disappointed by the time but what I learned from the experience was well worth it.
For the rest of my workouts leading up to grandma's I am going to be taking water but doing so in a way that allows me to continue breathing sem-regularly so that I can stay aerobic. It was funny because I had a swimmer friend tell me a couple of weeks ago that during a triathlon once she panicked and went anerobic and she was never able to recover.
The feeling in my legs before I took the water and after was night and day. And once they were hurting there was no going back.
Looking back to Indy, I remembered taking my water in very short sips that allowed me to continue breathing normally and everything went fine. However, the marathon will be different because you can get away with drinking lightly in a half marathon. You can't cheat hydration in a marathon so I will have to figure out how to take the full cup(s) of water while still breathing.
Oh yeah...there was another part of the workout. After a 20-minute rest I did 7x1-minute hills up the steepest part of Snoqualmie Pkwy. 2 1/2 minutes rest between each rep. Hills are awesome. They are so multi-functional. Good aerobic work and killer for the calves. | 