Well the workout didn't go as planned today. I had intended on running 3x2400 at 6:40, 6:35, and 6:30 pace with 1200 meter recoveries at 7:25 pace. Then I was to finish with a fast but controlled mile. Basically what Eric did yesterday but a little less volume.
2 miles to warm-up in 43 degree weather with a light rain and 17 mph wind... felt pretty good. I was running our 1200 meter loop so each rep would be 2 laps. The first lap was 5:00 (172) or exactly on 6:40 pace and felt pretty good. The second lap was on pace as well and I finished the first 2400 feeling pretty good. My legs were a little tired but things seemed to be going ok. I was expecting the second rep to go a little better as this seems to be the case for me when I am doing this type of work. The recovery lap felt good and I was ready to go after the 1200 meters. The first lap was a little faster than I was supposed to go.. 4:52 (180) rather than 4:56 but I slowed a little on the next lap.. 4:55 (186). It was during the second loop that I knew things weren't going to finish well. My legs were really tired and they weren't coming around like I expected they would. My breathing wasn't terrible but it seemed like the effort was harder than what we intended for this workout. I was pretty sure before I started the 3rd rep that I wasn't going to finish the workout but thought I would give this lap a try to see if things were going to ever come around. They didn't. About 200 meters in I decided to push a little and just make this lap a hard but controlled 1200 and call it good for the morning. I ran a 4:48 (I messed up the avg. HR for this lap but think it was probably a little higher than 186 based on a few glances at the watch) or 6:24 pace and it didn't feel good. I seemed to recover ok though.. down to 130 in 1:05 and 120 in 1:22.
While it is easy to say now that I am done, I am pretty sure that I could have finished the last 2400 at the intended pace but I don't know if it would have been in my best interest. Today it seemed like it was my legs that were the limiting factor... if that really was the case is it ok to push through that and keep going? But my heart rate wasn't leveling off either so maybe it wasn't just tired legs. I am concerned that I am not recovering well enough from my runs and am starting to dig myself into a hole. Hmmm... maybe we are being a little too ambitious with the paces we set. Sometimes it's easy to forget that I don't have the base that Eric has. But my recovery down to 120 heart rate has been pretty good lately and seems to be getting better as the weeks go on.
I'd like to think that it was just an off day but I suspect that I may be pushing things a little more than I should be right now and I am not recovering as I should be. Don't know.
2 comments:
It sounds like it could have been any number of things, including hills on the 'mill. Knowing the purpose of these workouts and sticking to it is probably a good idea. These don't sound like they're supposed to be as difficult as they were, so trying the same thing with the paces backed off by a few seconds again next week (or something similar) might give you a better indication of whether or not you're over-reaching. With that in mind it sounds to me like it was a good idea to pull the plug.
What you mentioned about Eric and his base is very astute. I think the paces he was running while doing his conditioning is worth noting too. However, just slowing these down little could give you almost exactly the same training effect with less recovery time. Jeez, I must be reading too many Mystery Coach emails.
Thanks for your thoughts, Mike. I have been trying to remember that just because I can doesn't mean I should... I tend to compete with myself to see if I can better my times from week to week (I have been doing this with my long run since I started running again). Just because I can run faster doesn't necessarily mean it is doing the right thing for me. It's easier for me to admit that than it is for me to stop doing it though.
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