Short run

So, when I say I'm going to do "speed work" I think you may be envisioning a fast run that's a good distance. Not so. I have found a plan that I am comfortable with to train for Disney. It is a 17 week plan, so I have a few weeks to go before that starts. At this point I am trying to work up a good base to be ready for the schedule.

One of the runs that the plan has you do are quarter mile repeats where you run a quarter mile (one lap around the track) at a certain pace. Then you rest two minutes and go another lap. Each week you'll increase how many total laps you do. The goal is to keep your pace consistent on each lap and get your legs used to a faster movement, so then when you "slow down" to your marathon pace, your legs will think that's easy compared to the faster pace in the quarter mile repeats.

On the first week of the plan you do 6 repeats, so 1.5 miles, plus a warm up and cool down. I decided I wanted to try it and see what pace I could do. That may help me decide what finishing time I want to have as a goal for my marathon. So, I thought, I'll just do a mile of these (or four repeats) to see what they feel like, plus it was my bonus 4th day, so any milage was an increase over last week, but we don't want to over-do it.

I ran a slow half mile warm up. Stretched. Then I did my first lap. 2:17. I was happy with that and said, okay, my other laps need to stay within 10 seconds of that (5 seconds faster or slower). Second lap was 2:13, third was 2:15, fourth was 2:16. I just did the four, and I felt really great! I was definitely tired, considering I did my last 3.1 miler in 33:20, so normally have a just over 11 minute mile pace. As I did my cool down half mile while pondering the repeats I thought "that is less than ten minutes for the mile!" Granted, there was a two minute rest in between, but still. That's way faster than my normal.

Then, as I started thinking more (on my ride home from the track, once I had some water and could think more clearly) and did the math, that is a 9:01 mile. Woah! I almost did a 9 minute mile! That rocks! Plus, I felt different after the run. It was just a mile sprinting, but I definitely felt like I had worked hard. My quads are sore today, and I feel it in my calfs. I take that as a good sign. I worked my body in a different way and that feels great!

So, I think I'll make that my official Wednesday run and each week I'll add more repeats. By the time I start the official 17 week schedule, I'll be better prepared.

Oh, and I did wear the new sneaks. They'll get a break today and be happy and ready for tomorrow's run. (You didn't think I'd go the whole thing without talking about my new shoes, did you?)

Oh, yeah! Then I was so excited about my run I ran up and down the stadium steps. Twice. Not a big huge stadium, but it was a nice little bonus. Maybe that's why my quads are a bit sore. Hmmm...