Ran 2 miles to the arboretum, then an easy mile in the grass to get over to the dirt road rectangle. I stretched out the muscles and then planned to run the long sections (400m) of the road at sprinting speed. I did this workout a couple of weeks ago so I was wondering if I would show any improvement in speed endurance.
400m sprints are difficult for me because it is hard to find the right speed for the first 200m. If I run at max heart rate I will die before finishing, so I usually take it one or two notches below top speed for the first 100m, then I slowly crank up the pace.
I know it is possible to reach optimum endurance and run 100% top speed for the full 400m, I jut have to work up to it. I remember 7 or 8 years ago I was doing an 800m workout at the cemetery which entailed going all out from the start and sprint until I drop. During the first session I stopped after 200m. By the 5th or 6th session I was able to make it the full 800m at top speed, I can't remember my time, but it was the fastest I have ever run 800m. I felt proud that day.
I was happy with today's session, I was pushing myself sufficiently hard so that after each rep I wanted to quit, which is a sign that I am not dogging it. After #2 I thought, "no more!", but then realized how lame 2 reps is, so I started a 3rd, and this is how it goes in these types of workouts - just one more leads to just one more leads to just one more.....
So I got my 8 reps in, the final one was the best, I was able to hold top speed for the final 250m. I felt I could have reached 10 reps, but with the 30 miler coming up this weekend, 8 seemed like a good place to stop.
It is funny, the hardest part of the reps today were the 5 seconds before each one started. Just knowing what lay ahead.... best not to think too hard about it. It reminded me of a dentist visit, the worst part is sitting in the chair during the moments just preceeding all the action.
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