Blue Eagle 5k Speedwork

While next week's Quadzilla is the key race that I'm focusing on, I'm also planning on running well in next month's Blue Eagle 5k.  I haven't been running fast very much and I need to start doing so.  I decided I'd do some speedwork on the actual course.  It is great because the route starts at my old elementary school which is right in my backyard.  The race means so much to me because of not only my elementary school, but it supports my high school track and cross country program.  That is where my running started and I still follow the program closely.

I was hoping to get up fairly early and run, but of course I couldn't do it.  It seems like I'm only able to get up when I have a commitment to run, whether it is with others or a race.  Luckily, by the time I got started (at noon), it was only 80 degrees.  It was still hot, but a far cry from the last week or so which saw temperatures in the upper 90s.

I started off with a mile warmup around my neighborhood.  I never used to warmup for short races, but I'm starting to recognize how important it is to get the legs churning.  It usually takes me a mile or so to get comfortable and off to a nice pace.  By that time, a 5k is almost a third of the way over.

I picked the warmup distance perfectly.  I was almost right at one mile when I hit the course's starting line.  The plan was to run 4 X one half mile segements at a 7 minute pace with quarter mile active recovery segments in between.  That would give me two minutes of hard running and three miles total in the off and on segment.  I want to go under a 7 minute pace next month in the race, so that was my goal pace for today.

The first segment started off good.  I had to sprint across the highway just in front of a car, but I managed.  It didn't slow me down.  I was under pace for awhile.  That's the tough thing with this, I am pretty good at going close to my pace, but if I'm say 10 seconds too fast, it is difficult to slow down just right.  The early downhill certainly helped.  I hit the first repeat almost perfectly at 6:58 pace.

The recovery was much needed.  Luckily, it ended right after a hill, so I didn't have to run uphill.  The heat was definitely getting to me already.  I felt ready as the second repeat started.  That also had an early downhill segment.  I was almost going too fast then.  I tried to back off a little, but I forgot that there was a slight uphill coming.  The change in gradient can make a big difference, even if it is just a small uphill.  I pushed pretty hard in the second segment and was really starting to feel it.  I ran another good split though with a 6:58.  Halfway through and I was right where I wanted to be.

The recovery segments were seeming shorter and shorter though.  The third segment started off well and I felt fairly strong.  Then there was a slight incline and one of the steepest hills on the course.  The first half of this race is definitely easier than the second half.  My pace really started to slip by the end of this segment.  My legs were beginning to go away.  I tried to focus hard on just relaxing and holding form.  It wasn't as fast as the first two half miles, but I still completed this one at a 7:04 pace.

I knew the final segment would be tough.  Rather than a quarter mile recovery between segments three and four, I decided to rest for a third of a mile.  I hoped the longer recovery would allow me a strong final interval.  When I got to the start point of the last interval I knew I needed even more recovery.  I knew I was toast, so rather than kill myself for this last half mile, I backed off.  I just pushed a little and told myself to focus more on form and relaxing.  I was just over a 7 minute pace early on, but continued to slip and slip.  A lot of this segment was uphill and I was really hurting.  My pace fell off to an awful 7:39.  I was 17 seconds slower than my slowest interval to that point.  Clearly I found my limit.

 I would've liked every segment to go as well as the first two, but the run was still fine.  I'm happy I can run that fast.  I wasn't sure how well I could keep up a 7 minute pace or how much effort it would actually take.  Now I know I can do that, it is just a matter of extending that pace longer.  In race conditions, that pace will feel much easier too.  Running with others will be a big help.

Originally, I was planning my next session to do six intervals instead of just four.  I'm going to take a run and see how it goes approach.  I might only do five.  If I still feel good after five, I'll try a sixth.  Six intervals would be three total miles of fast running, nearly the equivalent of a 5k.  That should be good enough for me.  I'll have about 3 or 4 more speedwork sessions before the race itself.

 I definitely still need to work on relaxing when I run hard.  I'm too tense, especially in the shoulders.  I probably need to drop them more.  That would be a big help I'm sure.  I could cut a lot of time off with some smoother form.  I also could benefit by running in less heat.  I'm not quite where I'd like to be, but I still think I can hit my goal for this race.

Looking at the data from this run, I'm actually amazed at my off segments.  I just slowed down during these.  I had no planned pace for them, just to get an active rest.  I only looked at my watch to see the distance, not the time or pace during these segments.  They were almost dead on time wise until I fell apart between segments three and four.  My warmup mile was 9:19.  The next two segments were 9:18 pace and 9:19 pace.  Pretty amazing how consistent that is.  I guess this just shows how in tune with my body I am.  I am almost like a machine until I hit my limit.

One thing I do need to work before the race is the mental part of running.  I need to visualize running the race and my workouts more.  I also need to think about all the pain and tough times I've been through as I push in a hard workout.  I did that last year during this race and it was a big help at the finish.  I probably let myself quit too easily at times now.  Today, there was no point in pushing that last segment, but I don't want to make giving up a habit either.

I decided that I'm likely going to run the D&L Half Marathon in early November.  That is a mostly flat course which should be fast.  I am going to shoot for a PR, at least for now.  I need a 1:33:11 to do that.  It probably isn't realistic as it took me until March the first time around to get that far.  If I don't shoot high though, I'll never get anywhere.  I now have some faster training partners and that will be a big help for me to get there.  I need to hang on with them as long as I can when I go on group runs.  As I get closer to the race, I'll readjust my goals if necessary.  I read a good thing in Brad Hudson's book the other day.  You should hit your goals about half the time.  If you never hit them, they are too ambitious, if you always hit them, they aren't challenging enough.

Tomorrow will be an easy day.  I might go to Merrill Creek in New Jersey with my dad in the evening.  He will kayak and I'll run the loop trail around the lake.  He can also get some good pictures of me running over the dam.  I look forward to it.  Of course, I can't wait until Quadzilla.  It is now only six days away.  It's getting closer to taming the beast.

4.5 miles - 38:31 (8:34 pace)