Ironton Rail Trail Repeats

 I need to start incorporating regular speedwork sessions into my schedule.  I want to build up to running mile repeats.  I'd like to be able to do a minimum of 7 or 8 of them in a workout before my half marathon in November.  If I'm going to PR in that race or even get close to it, these sessions will be key.

I've usually run my speedwork alone.  I want to start doing it with Kelley, so I invited her along.  I figured it wouldn't be anything too hard.  The plan was for 6 X .5 mile repeats with .25 mile active recoveries in between.  It started with a mile warmup and ended with a 3/4 mile cooldown.

Kelley lives near the Ironton Rail Trail, so I opted to go there.  I love running there too.  It is so cool how they incorporate the trail's history into the path.  There was a caboose along the path as well as some neat signage.  The caboose wasn't there last time I ran the path.  The trail was a perfect size for this workout.  It is about a 5.5 mile loop around the neighborhoods.

I made Kelley get up early to join me.  Even though it was still going to be beautiful weather for most of the day, I wanted to make sure the heat had no impact at all on the run.  Therefore, we met up at 8.  Neither of us are morning people, but it is good to get an early start every now and then.  That's especially true for key workouts.

The run started off with a nice and casual warmup.  We chatted a little before taking off.  I wanted to rotate who led each segment, since it is easier to get pulled along then to lead all the time or run side by side.  I took off and lead the first fast segment.  It went pretty well.  Getting it timed down to a 7 minute pace for just a half mile can be a little tricky.  The first repeat was dead on 7 minute pace.

Kelley led the second repeat and basically did just as well with the pace.  We came in at 6:57 pace for that one.  A quarter mile recovery seems like a long time, but it was over before we knew it and we were on to the next segment.

The third segment, which I led, was a little faster at 6:47 and Kelley's segment number four was a little slow at 7:07, so they just about balanced out.  I went on the fast side partly because I was feeling good and partly because we passed another women, so she pulled me along.  In Kelley's defense, her segment was slightly uphill.  When you are running only a half mile at a time, it doesn't take much of an incline to impact the pace.  You can really feel the difference too. 

Animals also had some impact on the run.  On one of Kelley's fast segments, we came across a lady walking her dogs.  After passing her, Kelley moved over too soon and the small dog jumped at her.  That definitely threw off her running and mine too to an extent.  Later on as I was leading, I nearly stepped on a mouse.  I heard Kelley yell a couple seconds later.  

When I was leading the segments, Kelley would fall behind me quite a bit.  It was so far back that I had to turn around every now and then and make sure she wasn't dropping completely.  She said she gets too tense when she's close behind.  My issue with her being behind is that I couldn't hear her footsteps to tell where she was.  The other thing is I must've looked like a jerk when we passed other people and I was leading.  They must've thought, "he's not waiting for her, he's just beating that poor girl up."

Kelley got to lead the last repeat.  My watch switched views and I couldn't get back to the original view.  Therefore, I didn't know the current half mile's pace or quite how far along we were in that half mile.  I couldn't get it to change back.  I saw that we finished with a 7:17 pace.  If I could've seen it was that slow, I might've pushed a little more at the end and just taken the lead.  Oh well, it wasn't that big of a deal.

I felt good after the workout, almost too good.  I was hoping that it would tax me more than it did or really challenge me mentally during one of the segments.  They sure weren't easy, but they weren't hard either.  Having Kelley to run with was probably a big help.  She really struggled with the last repeat and had to stop briefly afterward.  I'm glad it pushed her limits.  Speedwork should definitely help her get better.  She did recover and finished up with me.  I was going easy at the end until I saw the watch at 8:00 pace.  Then I picked it up to make sure we went under that.

Even with there being so little heat and us starting early, I was still soaked by the end.  I wore my lightweight singlet too.  I could barely get it off.  Perhaps I should've went without a shirt.  Some guy saw us start out and was impressed with how fast we were moving as we encountered him two more times.

This was a good start of weekly speedwork for me.  I'd like to add two more repeats each week.  We'll see how that goes.  It may be tough for Kelley.  I might not want to push that much either.  My legs were a bit beat up after this because it was the most running that I've done in my minimalist shoes.  It is time to go back to regular shoes for the next two days at least.



 Tomorrow will be the LVRR Group Run.  Since it is in the evening, I should have a long time to recover.  My sore legs might need it.  I am joining the family hike as well in the afternoon.  For the group run, I'm going to try something new and see if people want to go to dinner afterward.  It should be a fun day.  Hopefully we'll keep having nice weather too.

6 miles - 48:00 (8:00 pace)