Thursday, December 18, 2008

No one at Westerberg is going to let you play their reindeer games

I started the day just dead in my bed. You know that feeling when you mentally wake up but you haven't moved yet and know you're screwed? If I was sore last night from yoga I was even more sore this a.m. (Never mind the psychotic dream I had about missing the start of my triathlon then getting caught in an oil spill eventually being poison-darted by a native.) I started with a few finger twitches and eventually brought the rest of me to life. I loooove being sore like that.

Today is my track/speed workout day so I called my coach for advice on where to run. Would the track be clear? Should I go to the treadmill? How does one do quality speedwork on a machine? We decided I should run to the track, check the conditions, then run to my gym if necessary. They're all close together.

Got to the track and this is what I found.................

One side clear:


And the other side snowy.


I determined this was the best I was going to get so started my drills. After getting warmed up I moved into the real stuff. I was to do two 100s as strides (start fast, then gradually build up to faster at the end). Wait 30 seconds and go into a 1200 interval @ 5:20, rest 2 minutes, do a 400 @ 1:30, rest 3 minutes, do another 1200 @ same pace, then another 400 @ same pace. Here's how it turned out:

100s = 0:13, 0:14
1200s = 5:29, 5:24
400s = 1:29, 1:29

Argh....I was really pissed that I didn't hit the 5:20s on the 1200s. I know I know I know that the conditions hampered this. I was completely slipping on that back half, but STILL. I hate not hitting my goals. The 400s were designed (and correct me if I'm wrong Shawn) to throw a little lactic acid into the mix. The 400 pace equates to 6:30/mile and the 12:00 pace is 7:08/mile, so obviously the 400s were a lot quicker. I felt it, but I also felt great. I felt relaxed and good, so this is an improvement for me on my track workouts. (I am already thinking about February when this is all over with, how much I am going to miss the track workouts!) Afterward I took some pics (below) then trotted home. I was not as exhausted as last week but I felt worked out. It was a really good session.

Photos.....starting line:


My weathered training plan:


Nike owns Portland:


So that is it for Portland for 10 days. I'm all packed up and hopefully leaving tomorrow to travel to Michigan for the holidays. I have tons of cold weather running gear packed as the high will not go above the 20s while I'm there. Awesome! There's a ginormous storm hitting Chicago right now that is supposed to last for 12 hours. When Chicago predicts an Arctic Blast they are not fucking around - the shit's going to be off the heeeourzy. I guarantee you that I will end up getting stuck somewhere and lose my luggage. At least I have friends there and can take the blue line downtown if I'm trapped!

I'll be online while I'm out, probably more than I am now, so will post my adventures in mid-Michigan.

7 comments:

RunToTheFinish said...

hope traveling goes well for you, I know they are getting hit right now.

you are very diligent about your training plan.. this must be what I'm missing to help me really kick in the speed. hence I will just try to be like you and see how much faster I get. :)

way to go on dealing with the conditions

Marathon Maritza said...

Have a great holiday in Michigan! Safe travels, fun runs, good food, family and friends!

Miss ya, biotech!



P.S. Ann Arbor is a whore.

jen said...

Good luck with the REAL winter!

Amy - the gazelle said...

safe travels! I hope it's not too cold (I long ago stopped visiting my family in the winter & instead make them come to me).

Steve Stenzel said...

Nice pace!! Way to go!

And I'll curse the snow with you!...

Alisa said...

Be careful traveling...I lived in Boston and totally agree...when they saw Noreaster you are in for it!

Be safe!

Sarah said...

Nike does own Portland - good call!