Start time: 7/3/07, 6:00pm
Location: McLean High School
Distance: ~4.25 miles
Average pace: 10:00min/mile & 7:00min/mile
Ah, a return to the LTRs! I ran these with Laura and Julie and it was a lot of fun; it’d been a while since I’d been able to do so, and we had a real blast. We hit all the splits at just the right time, and afterwards had a nice good cool down and stretch that made me feel really good about the entire experience. Great, great way to spend an hour or so after work.
Start time: 6/12/07, 7:30pm
Location: Thomas Jefferson Community Center
Distance: ~4.25 miles
Average pace: 10:00min/mile & 7:00min/mile
Ok, back to the LTRs. Last week I was supposed to do 8 bursts of 2 minutes at the faster pace; I’d managed four and a half before I gave up. Today was supposed to be 8 again, and I figured if I got 6-7 then I would declare it a victory. There was a huge storm threatening to hit, so I headed to TJ once more to use their 1/8th mile track. I did a warm-up 10min/mile, then went to town. After 6 LTRs, it suddenly hit me that I’d actually be able to do all 8 of them. It’s such a nice feeling to not feel like you’re never going to get back up to speed.
So yeah, a very good time, and on pace for all of them. There was one other guy on the track that was being a bit of a jerk (when I was running my warm-up mile, he shot around and in front of me so close I almost tripped on his heels), but he couldn’t rain on my parade. A very nice time.
That said, after three days of running in a row, it’s nice that Wednesday only had weights and a spinning class planned. Bliss.
Start time: 6/5/07, 7:00pm
Location: McLean High School
Distance: ~2 miles
Average pace: 9:30min/mile & 7:00min/mile
The idea on Tuesday was to get back into the LTRs. My schedule said 8 reps, but I ended up doing 4 strong ones and started but didn’t finish a 5th. Considering how long it had been, I was pretty pleased. Ended up walking my cooldown instead of running it, but it was still all good.
Start time: 5/11/07, 6:00pm
Location: McLean High School
Distance: ~3.25 miles
Average pace: 9:30min/mile & 6:20min/mile
Start time: 5/15/07, 6:00pm
Location: McLean High School
Distance: ~3.7 miles
Average pace: 9:30min/mile & 7:00min/mile
Last Friday was my first VO2 Max run, which was like last Tuesday’s Lactate Threshold Run… only faster. Well, that was the idea. Laura and I did it together again, but we were never able to nail our projected 6:00min/mile pace. We were always about 5 seconds off at the quarter mile mark, which actually places us around a 6:20min/mile pace. Still, not bad for four 2-minute bursts of speed the first time out of the gate.
Then, yesterday, was the return of the LTRs, but with 6 2-minute reps instead of just 4. That went really well… aside from the lower-calf problems I’ve been having for a few weeks with a general soreness/stiffness. I suspect that I’m going to have to take a couple of weeks off and see if that does the trick, as frustrating as it is. (It’s really hurting today, which is not good.) I’d rather have to take time off now than right before the marathon. *sigh* Not happy.
Start time: 5/8/07, 6:00pm
Location: McLean High School
Distance: ~3 miles
Average pace: 9:30min/mile & 7:00min/mile
Yesterday, Laura and I ran the first of our “Lactate Threshold Runs” which involve short bursts of running at a faster pace, with slight breaks between them. The schedule was as follows:
10 minute warm-up jog
4 2-minute bursts at a 7:00min/mile pace, separated by a 1-2 minute walk
10 minute cool-down jog
We headed over to McLean High School to use their track, since it’s nice and flat, has no traffic, and is easy to figure out distance since it’s a quarter-mile loop. So we did the warm-up, then headed around for our first lap. At our correct pace, we should run one lap in 1:45, with 15 more seconds to go. So we took off along its wonderful bouncy surface (I do love new tracks) and the first loop was done in… 1:30. That’s a 6min/mile pace. Oops! We were more on track for the others, though, and Laura was a great person to run with.
Once we were done (amidst the occasion dodging of the women’s soccer team which was setting up for a game), we hit our warm down jog for another mile, then headed on out. A good time! As the LTRs continue we’ll be having additional loops to do, but for now it was a nice start.