Today was a very interesting day. For most of our running group, it was a day off to rest the legs for difficult 10K this Saturday. For us 'Non racers' (all three of us), it was a up tempo workout of 4x400 (60 sec), 4x200 (45sec), 4x400 (60 sec), 4x200 (45sec). Needless to say, when I got there, Paul and Michele had already started. I actually thought I was on time, since i had left the house earlier then normal... :) But the red blinky light markers were out and flashing so I knew they were somewhere on the maked course, and would be back shortly. And I was right, typically we do an out and back on the 400s, so I was only 2 back and joined in at the start of #3 during the first set.
Since I wasn't fully wamred up, and it was actually pretty cool, I took the first two 400s pretty slow.....So I thought! My first registered at a 1:37. 1:37??? Are you kidding me?? That's exactly what I thought to myself. Even more bizaar, Paul finished about 3 seconds AHEAD of me. Normally my target times for the 400s has been 1:45ish. That's a HUGE improvement over several weeks. The way back was a tad bit slower due to the headwind at 1:41. Still fast though.
This is where my workout got really weird. So.....to stay on cycle with them, I went into the 200s, and would make up the two missed 400s at the end. No biggie really. So, after the 1 min rest, we set out ont he 200s. And by set out, I mean I ran the first two at what turned out to be a 5:51 pace. HUH??? Let meput this in a little perspective. The last time I ran a 5:anything pace the year was 1993, roughly 15 years ago, and I was a mere 21 years old going through 6 weeks of baic training in AFROTC. So shocked was an understatement when I was going over my splits this morning. And mind you, there wasn't just 1, there was 3 of them! The rest were all in the 6min mile range, with the slowest fo the 8 being 6:09. I never thought I could be anywhere near that level of fitness again, let alone have the capability to run a mile and a half in 8:55 ever again. Who knows, I may have to give that a shot sometime during training to see if it's possible.
The 400s were at a slower pace, but still.....for me.....anything but pedestrian. All 8 were under a 7 minute pace, with the large majority at 6:30. In fact, I think my slowest splits were the frist 2 at 1:41. I can really feel the changes in my runnin gstride. With all this weight I've lost over the past couple of months, my legs are restricted by all those fat deposits, and I'm developing a little bit of a "kick", and it just plain feel GREAT! Sure I have the 'off' days where my legs are tired, that's to be expected. But right now, they're CRAVING my morning workouts. I'm actually waking uup a few minutes BEFORE my alarm, and I feel like I've slayed goliath having completed a workout. It's almost a feeling of invincibility. I'm actually haveing a GREAT TIME!
And as for weekly miles, I'm right no track to hit 38.5. Right now, 16.5 are in the books, with 3 running days left. Tomorrow, I plan on another extra credit morning by getting in 6.5. That should put me at a nice even 23 with Saturday and Sunday workouts to go. If I got with a 5 mile tempo, plus warmup and cool down, that will put me at about 7 for that day. Leaving me in striking distance of 40. It all depends on how I feel Sunday am, but that's the plan so far!
So, until tomorrow, TRAIN HARD, and LIVESTRONG!
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