Here's what I've got:
As previously mentioned in my last post, we took a fitness test. We had a pretty good warm-up that was about 20 minutes long doing a bunch of weird jogs and stuff. A lot of it reminded me of the Ministry of Silly Walks:
Once that was done, we began the test. I ran my mile in 8:09. I probably could've pushed it and had a better time, but in hindsight I'm glad I didn't. After the test we thought we were done. Nope. The beginners got to go stretch out and stuff, while intermediates and advanced got to run another mile at 80% effort. In other words our expected half marathon time.
Our HM pace was calculated by adding 90 seconds to our mile time. So for me, it was about a 9:40 pace. That second mile was very comfortable. We ended with a cooling off lap and stretches and then home.
Next day was just a simple mile and the day after was another track workout. This time we did a 3 lap warmup and then the MOSW stuff followed by the main workout.
Now here's the thing, we were supposed to be running 12X400 at HM pace with a 200m jog in between each 400. Unfortunately I have a group that's very competitive and push that envelope HARD! Each lap was being run at about 2:10. That's an 8:40 mile! The first mile was okay, I started falling behind after our 6th turn. I was finishing about 5 to 10 seconds behind most of the group. Luckily, I wasn't the only one.
Next day I took another short mile and it was SLOW! It was supposed to be slow, but at marathon pace. I was like forget that. I just pushing this mile out. Same with the day after. Just a mile.
My second group run had me a bit nervous, but excited. It was going to be hill work. At first, I understood the email to be that we were to run half the distance of our previous long run. I misread the email. We were expected to run 1 to 2 miles less. So either 6 or 7 miles for me. I opted for 6 because Coach Z really wanted us to power up the hills. I ended up with 6 miles at a 10:48 pace. I was tore up, but happy that I did that well for this run. I got lazy in the last half mile and walked a lot of it. Okay, not lazy. The wall kicked me in my hips. Very difficult to keep running.
The next group meeting was a workshop on nutrition. Same old stuff about what one needs to properly fuel. Then we had another group run. Went with my crazy group and again, did they push hard! I ran my fastest time for 4 miles ever, 9:26 pace!
We had more track workouts, but I didn't do too well. I was able to keep up for the most part? But I kept lagging behind the crazy ladies.
Before our latest long run this past weekend, I was worried. My IT band started acting up in like the first time EVER. But come Saturday morning, it wasn't an issue and again I had another milestone moment.
8 miles @ 9:57 min/mile pace!
HOLY CRAP! This training shit really works!
I probably should've hit the beach after to ice up the legs because the last couple of days have been painful. I did okay on our fartleks tonight, but I probably would've done better had I jumped on the ocean after the long run on Saturday.
Hindsight is always 20/20.
Looking forward to continuing this training for the rest of this program. I can only get better.
GD
p.s.
too sore to check. run smiley :)
Man, you've really stepped up this year. I've been looking at your run posts, and, yeah maybe not every one is better than the one before, but the general rise to power is pretty evident.
ReplyDeleteI've haven't done proper training since high school. Killing oneself through training was fun back then. Now with 40 coming in a couple of months, aches and pains aren't as fun anymore. But to paraphrase Dory, just keep movin'!
ReplyDeleteEven though this training stuff is hard, I'm surprised at how well I'm doing and how much I'm actually enjoying it (after the fact). This previous year of running every day helped in a way to just get out there and not make excuses. So far I haven't missed a session with the group. But if I can't make it one night, at least I know what I can do to make it up.