Progression Run on Track

I was so sore on Friday that I considered taking the whole week off.  Then, I felt great and recovered well after the 5k on Saturday, so I changed that idea.  I wanted to work on speed, but not kill myself after Saturday's hard run.  I'm also planning a tougher half mile repeat session on Wednesday.  That meant I needed something with moderate effort.  I opted for a progression run at my high school track.

I was trying to think of a softer surface that I haven't run in awhile.  Then it dawned on me to just take to the track.  I was thrilled when I saw that it would be in the low 80s with low humidity.  It might've been even nicer than that when I started.

As I began, a guy was sprinting each 100m segment and walking the turns.  I love seeing all the different workouts that people do.  A man a woman were alternating walking and slow running later on.  I opted for 3 miles at a comfortable pace and then 1 mile hard.

I started off at what I felt was an easy pace.  It took a little while for my legs to get used to the track surface.  When they came around, I was feeling good and fast.  I couldn't believe how quick my time was for the first mile.  Without much effort, I hit an 8:07.  The track surface made a difference, but my lightweight minimal shoes definitely did as well.  I can't believe how speedy they make me.

Just a couple laps in and I was already getting bored.  I don't know how the guys in the Olympics can run 10k on a track.  Four miles was hard enough.  Those 16 laps seem like they'll never end.

My second mile was almost dead on my first mile time.  I was very consistent.  My legs were a little sore, but not too bad.  There is a section of the track that had a sinkhole last year and that seems softer.  I also had to battle a headwind on the back stretch.  That cooled me off, but made running harder too.

When I got to the end of the second mile, I concentrated on better form.  Almost instantly, my legs felt better and my pace picked up without more effort.  I was flying.

The final mile was hard and it was great to really push it.  I kept working on one lap at a time.  Because each lap was a little more than a quarter mile, I stopped a bit short of 16 laps.  I was very impressed to see that I ran the final mile under 7 minutes.  I didn't think I was going quite that fast.  Whereas I fell apart at the end on Saturday, I got stronger today and truly progressed throughout the run.

After the run, I did some strides and drills.  I need to do that more often to improve my form.  I also think that I need to work more on my form during easy runs and therefore I won't be as sore afterward.  I'm not sure what is helping my legs feel better now, but I need to keep it up.  Maybe it is the lighter shoes or maybe it is the BioFreeze that I've been using.  Either way, I'm feeling good at the moment.

Tomorrow, will certainly be an easy day.  I asked Kelley if she wants to do half mile repeats on Wednesday, so I guess we'll meet up for that if I'm still feeling good.  I know I pushed to far in training, now I'm just hoping that staying around where I'm at mileage wise will prevent my legs from getting any worse.  If I need an extra day off this week, I'll take it.

4 miles - 30:48 (7:42 pace)