Friday 400s

Today marked my second speed workout of the week.  I was searching through old Runner's World magazines and numerous websites for the best workouts to improve your 1/2 marathon time.  I couldn't find much consensus, so I went for 10 x 400s.  Using the Vdot tool that J had posted about earlier this week, which had worked for finding a good tempo pace for me, I found the time I should aim for with 400s. 

Unfortunately, I forgot to convert this time into a pace I should aim for, which meant that I went out WAY too fast in the first interval and then had to stop and check my Garmin and do some quick math!  I hadn't run 400s in ages, and 1:55 seemed like a tough pace!  I decided anything under 2 minutes would be acceptable, with 90 second recoveries, especially because I was running around the neighbourhood and not on the flat track. 

After a little warm up to get across the highway, I got started:

1:44 - Way too fast.
1:50 - Still fast, and this was with an UPhill!
1:50 - Feeling good, but can I keep this up?
1:53 - Hmmm, I'm hungry!
1:55 - Maybe I should quit early...I'm REALLY hungry.
1:57 - Yep, definitely too hungry.  I'm heading home....straight into the wind.
1:56 - I hate wind.
1:54 - Forget food, you can turn the wrong way and do one more!
1:54 - Not home yet, might as well do one more.
1:55 - You planned to do 10.  Do 10!  Back into the wind. :S

This was hard work, but I love workouts like this.  It felt hard, but had a great payoff - a better average pace than I've seen in awhile, even with the rests!  Overall:  7.5K (4.67 miles) @ 5:25/km (8:44).

This run is dual purpose.  Not only is it a speed workout, but I also want it to make my legs tired before tomorrow's long run. 

What?  That doesn't sound like me. 

I've realized that I've been going a little too easy on myself in my training.  If I don't feel good on a run, I'll cut it short (which is why I'm happy I pushed through the hunger today). I often take a day off before a long run, giving me a better chance of having a "good" run.  While good runs can boost confidence, I want more practice running in less than ideal conditions.  Bring on the tired legs.  I have 20K planned for tomorrow, and am hoping to hit race pace for at least part of it.

Happy Weekend!