I really think the best way to describe my training since the new year (really, since last spring) is as being "consistently inconsistent." Its been consistent in the sense that, although workouts have been sparse, and my week is as likely to have had 2-3 rest days as it is to have had 2-3 weeks straight with no days off, I've been pretty good on getting out there, doing 8-12 miles, and a respectable pace. Or so I believe, given the fact that I've either been training without mapping the distance or sans watch (or, as it has been of late, neither mapping or timing my runs), so I don't know how fast I am going. And core work has been coming in spurts, and is steadily getting more consistent. Given this, my workout last Tuesday came to me as quite a surprise.
We met at ELHS track at 6 pm. It was just starting to get dark. Although warm for February, the rain made the mild temperatures feel a little cooler than it really was, although once we were moving, it really was not too bad. After an easy 3 mile warm-up, the workout began. It was a 2 mile, 400 rest, 1 mile, 400 rest, 2 x 800 with 400 rest, and then 2 x 400 with 200 rest in between them. The goal was to be running around 10k pace for the two mile, and having the pace increase slightly for each subsequent interval. Given my lack of racing (or even timing my runs), I had little idea of what I should be running, so I just went out there and ran by feel.
We took off on the two mile. Surprisingly, 5 minute mile pace didn't feel like I was over extending myself, and I ran the first repeat with the lead group, even taking over for a few of the middle laps to help with the pacing duties (there was a little wind; not enough to really slow you down much, but enough to make it kind of cold when you were out there leading). After this, I decided I was just going to take each repeat as it came, and not worry about the next. For the mile, Jake ended up leading, and the entire group strung out. Going into the last lap, I was the last of the four of us (Jake, Donnie, Kats, and myself) in the lead group. I decided to move on the last lap, and slowly ate away at the lead each of them had on me. I caught Jake with 100 meters to go, and came in with him, running a 4:49 and closing in 69 seconds. Unlike the 2 mile, I felt like I had maybe over reached a little when I put the throttle down on the last lap, but it really didn't feel too bad.
The 800s were pretty uneventful. I ran an even-splitted 2:22 for the first, and a negative-split 2:22 on the second. Then came the 400s. At this point, I knew I was having a good workout. The goal on these was to go as fast as we could without straining. The first one I clocked in 61. The second was a tick below 60 seconds. And neither of these felt like I was straining. It felt a little tough after everything else, but it didn't feel like I was actually running outside of myself.
Given my inconsistent training, this workout was a surprise to me. I've been trying to come up with explanations as to why I felt so good during the workout (I definitely didn't feel good going into or coming out of it... my calves were trashed for the next few days after this!). The ideas that I've come up with so far: 1) Last spring/winter's training, where I was doing marathon-like training, is starting to make itself known in my faster workout. This is what I would call the "Letsrun-training adaption theory." 2) My hips/knees/feet/ankles etc. were not bothering me, and I felt like I could really stride out. I think this is a function of me having worked on my form and doing dynamic stretching. It just felt really easy to both open up my stride and, at the same time, get a decent turnover going. 3) I've been running my easy runs easy. And I mean really easy. I'm talking capital E-A-S-Y. I don't think I've been going slow, its just that I haven't been straining when I'm running. And if I have a day where I feel like I need to run 8 minute-per-mile pace, I will do that (I don't actually know that I was running this slow one day, but I am pretty sure that I was running between 7:45 and 8:45 minute miles, and would be pretty surprised if you told me I was running either faster or slower than this pace). For reference, last year at this time, I was running anywhere between 6:40 (at the slowest) and 5:30 pace on my runs. I do get going under 6 minute miles when I am doing hard runs, but for easy runs, I'm just going by feel. 4) I'm getting better sleep, have gotten my heartburn under control, and handling stress better, and am just dealing better with a lot of extrinsic factors that seeming shouldn't affect running, but do.
Likely, its a combination of these things, which, I should add, are not exactly independent of each other. For example, running easier on my easy runs has enabled me to focus more on my form during these runs; dealing with stress helps me recover better so that I can go hard when I need to; dynamic stretching is helping me with my range of motion that enables me to run with better form; the fitness that I gained from last spring is helping me recovery faster and run easier at faster paces. The list really could go on for a while. Regardless, this workout is leaving me excited for my prospects this spring. I'm really not sure what I am focusing on racing-wise. I do know that I'm running the Shamrock shuffle in Chicago in late March and the Martian Meteor 10k in April, but the rest of the plans are pretty up in the air right now.
Well folks, I think I've babbled on for long enough now. Time to get out there and blaze!
