Thursday, February 17, 2011

Oh How I Have Missed You, Speed Work!

It was a beautiful 47 degrees in New Jersey yesterday and tomorrow is supposed to be 65. Goodbye snow! Oh wait, they are predicting some for next week, but I am hoping it is a mistake…

I decided to go with the 800s yesterday.

And they were lovely. I know you probably wouldn’t think to described 800s as lovely, and normally I wouldn’t either, but that is how much I have missed them!

Now, before you look at my splits and wonder why I am all over the place…let me explain.

I ran these 800s on the street, and there is a bit of an incline. I actually prefer to do them on the street because it simulates an actual race experience more than the track does. This is what the elevation looked like:

800s elevation

Don’t count the first part because that was the warm up but around mile 1.5 is where the 800s started. That little lip between 2 and 3 is where I turned around at the end of the street to start the next one.

So now, with that in mind, I can show you my splits. I started going up the incline.

The Workout: 6 x 800 w/ 1:30 RI (800s were supposed to be at 3:03)

1.5 mile warm up (approx 8:30 pace)

800s: 3:04, 2:55, 3:15, 2:56, 3:16, 2:53

I jogged in between the first 3 then walked the rest interval after the last 3. So I guess that averages close to what I was supposed to hit if I were on the track? Maybe? I don’t know, but I definitely feel great about this workout! Probably because those 250-somethings make me looks so fast! Don’t be fooled. I was huffing and puffing and my eyes were blurring and tearing up. My dad was on the lookout for traffic because that is how tired I was. A downside of sprinting on the street…

I was nervous because I haven’t been doing any speed work at all this training cycle, but I was able to hang in there. I forgot how much I loved doing speed work!

I was extremely tired last night after these and basically ate dinner (1/2 price sushi!), watched Modern Family, and went to bed!

*Favorite TV show these days?
I don’t have a favorite show but I recently got into Modern Family and have been loving it!

*Have you ever done a track workout on the street? Thoughts?
I actually don’t mind the track depending on the workout, but I think running speed work on the roads is better practice for road racing. You do have to be careful though because on the roads there are cars, potholes, etc.

8 comments:

Meg O @watchmegorun said...

I'm loving modern famly too! I also like the middle which is on at 8 (same channel and day). I haven't done speedwork on a track in a while, but I would! Great job on your workout, you are awesome!

HowdyFromNYC said...

I love Big Brother and Millionaire Matchmaker (both very classy, I know). Unfortunately, neither of those are on the air right now, so I guess my favorites right now are Glee, Modern Family, and Cougar Town. :)

Running Ricig said...

my favorite tv show right now is Lie To Me. I thought it was going to be terrible, but after the first episode I was completely hooked. We've been working our way through it on netflix. I can't get enough!

Stephanie said...

Fav TV show has been Big Bang Theory- you must watch it, super funny!

I really don't mind doing speedowrk anywhere, I have done it all: track, road, treadmill, I prefer the treadmill honestly because it forces me to hit the paces I am supposed to, however, I usually head to the track to meet my group, but no matter what I always feel like I got in a great workout!

Stefanie D. said...

Yay! You did awesome! My favorite TV shows are Gossip Girl, Glee, Supernatural, and The Real Housewives.

Anonymous said...

AWESOME speedwork girl!! You are amazing and will ACE Boston!:)

I prefer speedwork on the treadmill, cos then I hit the exact speeds I want! Whilst watching Criminal Minds of course, my current fave!! :D

mmmonyka said...

Look at you, speedy!!! Great work!

I do not own TV, so no shows for me...

As far as workouts on roads go, I would never do that. I think that running alone is pretty bad for our joins, therefore I try to avoid pounding hard on roads. I did some tempos and hill workouts on roads at college though.
And anyway, my ITB is so messed up that I cannot even run on treadmill without pain afterwards! So road would kill it completely, and I' trying to postpone a surgery as long as I can.
I have read that it is somehow important to run on road when training for a marathon so your legs get used to pounding, but since you already do all your runs on road, I personally do not see a need to do a speedwork on road as well. I think that you should give your legs a break from hard surfaces once in a while!

Anonymous said...

MODERN FAMILY for the WIN! Phil and Cam have to be my favorite :)