The work begins on Day 2 of training. One of the key workouts each week in the FIRST training plan is INTERVALS to increase your speed... in a nutshell, teaching your legs how to move faster! I can run and I can run long, but fast is not my game. The authors of the FIRST plan also dictate the speed/pace at which you should run these intervals (based off your last race time). Here was their prediction for me:
2:09 Half-Marathon = 27:50 5K... thus I should be able to do 400m intervals (1/4 mile or one lap around a track) at a 8:20 pace (7.2 mph on the treadmill). Needless to say, I was a bit apprehensive for this workout.
But I'm so excited to report that I DID IT!!!
18 min. warmup jog on gym track (2 miles)
Treadmill: Repeated 12 times... Run 400m at 8:20 pace, Recover jog for 90 seconds (5 miles)
10 min. cooldown jog on track (1 mile)
TOTAL: 8 miles in 1 hour 18 minutes
When I got to the 5th sprint, I was exhausted and starting to doubt myself. By #7 the side pains kicked in. By time I hit #10, my only salvation was "just two more to go". Pretty sure I let out some nice grunts, but hey, I couldn't hear over my pumpin' playlist. Special thanks to Kelly Clarkson for "My Life Would Suck without You"... that song carried me through the toughest ones. In fact, I repeated the song twice! By far, the toughest run workout I've ever done. But just goes to prove my latest favorite quote... "You are capable of so much more than you think!"
Up Next (Wednesday): CROSS-TRAINING DAY. Typically a 45 minute Spin class, but I have a feeling it will be cancelled with the looming blizzard. So I plan to do my 20 minute Yoga DVD in the morning, followed by 45 minutes on the exercise bike.
Way to hit your first speed workout. The times in the book are so fast, don't you think? I'm nervous for each track and tempo workout, but what a high when you do it right!
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