Having Fun

I ran an easy, albeit hilly, 10 miles on Tuesday morning and felt so-so. Nothing to report of any interest.

On Wednesday morning I ran an easy 5 miles, a mile of which was on a soft, shaded wood chip loop near my building. It’s a great spot to warm-up prior to hitting the streets.

In the afternoon, I ventured to the track for an 800m time trial. Part of me wanted to have some fun and see what I could do with “off the couch” speed, whereas part of me hoped this would give me a confidence boost and much needed turnover for my mile…now only 15 days away. The goal was to run 2:00flat or, if I got lucky, sneak under 2. In actuality, 2:02 would have been sufficient. I would cool down for a couple of laps and then run a 400m at mile race pace (i.e. – 64).

It was a warm day and we had a slew of runners at the track including tri super star Desiree Ficker. Most everyone was running a longer 10k-geared workout, but Dirk was kind enough to jump in and pace me. Dirk ran for UTEP via Holland and recorded times of 3:47 and 14:07. He was going to run the first 300m and the last 200m with me. We went out a tad slow for the first 100m, but thankfully hit 200m in a perfect 30 (in retrospect, we likely didn’t go out slow, but it “felt” slow). I pushed the homestretch and hit 400m in 60. I felt excellent and thought I could run 59 for the next lap. I might have fallen asleep between 400 and 600 just a little...hitting 600m in 1:30 or 1:31. My last 200m felt like a 27 and I actually thought I was going to run 1:58 or so, but I finished just around 2:00.3. I was happy with this effort but shook it off and immediately started shuffling. After 2 laps I ran a 400 at mile pace (65) to mimic running pace on tired legs (I should have been a little faster - 64). I ran a long, slow cool down then ran 4 x 200m strides (200 rest) at mile pace in trainers (wore spikes for the 800). They felt easy.

I felt very good. I had to run into lane 2 & 3 once or twice to get around some other people on the track, so a 1:59 might have been in the cards today, but I was very happy with my effort nonetheless.

I can't believe how much mileage/strength can help...even in something as short as an 800m. I am now running 80 mpw with 18-20 mile long runs, so I was surprised that this 800m was one of the easiest I've run. I haven’t run an 800m this fast since 2002 which is when I ran my PR of 1:57 in an open college meet.

Next week I will try a 2:08 (64/64) for 800m...rest for 800m and then run 64/?? for another 800m. Hopefully I run a tad faster than my first 800m (2:05?).