#speedwork

4th interval workout of the program, 8x400:

I ran an easy pace mile then for whatever reason, I did my first 400m interval closer to a sprint than my 5k pace, so I walked afterward. Repeated this for my next 3 intervals.

For intervals 5-8, I decided to run them at 5k pace, thus 2 min, which I was pretty much able to do, and then I ran 2 min easy pace between.

Finished up with a few easy pace min, enough to get my workout to end at satisfying 4.25 mi number. Probably would've run easy for another quarter mile to take it to 4.5, but at 4.25 I was close to my house so I called it.

Third interval workout of the program yesterday:

This time it was 7x400, so again I started with one easy pace mile, then targeted 0.2 mi at easy pace between my intervals to make it every 2 minutes. That is, my 5k pace of 8 min/mi for 0.25 takes 2 min, 10 min/mi easy pace for 0.2 takes 2 minutes.

My first interval took 2:10, but my first is often on the slower side. My 2nd I think was right about 2 minutes, my 3rd as well. But it started to feel harder. I felt hungry, maybe this was my mind playing tricks on me from actually eating to lose weight the day before.

4th and 5th were OK, I guess, but I could definitely feel myself slowing down toward the end of them. I'd guess they were a tad slower than 2 minutes each.

Then I started allowing myself to go slower than easy pace in between. Telling myself there's nothing magic about that pace. I'm allowed to walk in between if I want to. It's just I want to stay running to easily add up my mile total for my own tracking.

6th was slower than the 5th. 7th was slower than the 6th. But I got it done.

A certain type of perfection can only be realised through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect.

- Oshima to Kafka, explaining why he likes Schubert's Sonata in D Major in Kafka on the Shore

Also what I'm telling myself after another day of eating sugary Christmas sweets the day after Christmas. Actually ate a good lunch, good snack, good dinner. Just opted for a half dozen cookies plus a couple chocolates after dinner. Not as bad as Christmas Day itself. And no alcohol, so, progress?

Woke up feeling full, not ideal 'ready to run' condition, but better than the day before, so I was able to soldier through the interval workout.

There seems to be some leeway with how these are done per Hal Higdon, so here's what I opted for. 1 easy mile, then my six 0.25 intervals with 0.20 jogs in between without stopping to walk, finishing with a 0.25 jog for a 3.75 total mileage. The 0.25 and 0.2 would all be 2 minutes because my 5K race pace plan is 8:00 and my jogs would be at a 10:00 east pace. Everything being 2 minutes would minimizing the thinking I had to do during this workout.

Why 3.75 miles? Because my only run remaining this month is Saturday's 5K and I needed my run to end with 0.75 to get to a whole number for the month. Going to end up with only 71 miles in December, my lowest mileage month in a while, my first sub-100 mile month since March.

Before this training program, the only semblance of speedwork I'd do would be a 30-minute fartlek workout. That is, 10 minutes of jogging, then five 30-second sprints with 3-minute jogs in between, finishing with 2 minutes jogging after the 5th sprint. Those almost feels easier since the sprint is so short and the rest is so long. But my intervals were only at 5K race pace, so I don't really know what I think.

I did my first mile at 10:11. These 10-10:30 miles are getting simpler and simpler to do. I did my first 400m in 2:10, my 2nd in 2:00, my 3rd in 10:03, my 4th and 5th each around 1:55 I think, my 6th around 1:50 I think. All my easy 0.2s came in right around 2:00, I didn't really notice the final 0.25, I assume my pace was appropriately easy.

The run looked like this:

An important "do differently" for me this time around has to be doing the interval and pace runs I haven't previously been so dedicated to doing.

Tuesday's run was my first of this program, a "5x400 5k pace" and I am pretty sure I didn't do it correctly.

I jogged for a minute or so to warm up. Then I ran the quarter mile intervals at in 2 to 2:10, essentially 8 to 8:40 min/mi pace, walking briefly in between. Then I ran a 5k at a 9 minute per mile pace. All in all it was a nice 4.7 mile, 45 minute workout.

At the time, it felt good, it felt like I was taking control of my situation. It felt meaningful, like I was giving meaning to this process of taking control of something in my life. Everything in my life was the sandstorm swirling around me, but for those 45 minutes, I was in control.

I came home reread the website to see if that was what I was supposed to do. The next day I starting typing this blog post and re-reread it and finally realized I was doing it wrong. I think the 400s should be at my 5k pace, so 8 min/mi pace I reckon. And that's it, that's the workout.

This more closely resembles fartleks that I've done in the past, jog for 10 minutes, then alternate 30 second sprints with 3 minute jogging. So next time I will likely jog for 10 minutes beforehand then do the 400 intervals as bit faster, 2 minutes at the most, then try to jog in between vs. walking since this is the whole workout. Since there are 6 400s next time, those plus a mile warmup and the jogging in between, maybe get 3 miles out of it.