Thursday, January 29, 2009

Wednesday evening speedwork.

I'm not the best at speedwork and I'm OK with that.

Speedwork leaves me out of breath. It doesn't matter that I am only running half mile repeats a little slower than my 5k pace. Those repeats leave me out of breath. And dripping with sweat. It's a bit on the nasty side.

The schedule called for track repeats last night. Ha ha ha! No track for this runner. The 6 or so inches of snow, followed by the freezing rain that poured down on us yesterday, combined with the late hour meant I would not be running on a track. Who am I kidding? I haven't run on a track in years. It is likely that I will not run on a track until, perhaps, if I'm lucky, March. Maybe April. And it will be a big deal. I'll write about is ad nauseum, don't you worry.

Back to the workout: I ran the repeats on the treadmill. I actually prefer to play with my speed on the treadmill rather than trying to do a steady-state run. So, off I went.

My hammies felt tight when I started but they loosened up by the end of my warm up and they felt fine through the whole workout. In other words, I can't blame my lack of speedwork ability on my legs. It's all lungs. Or, maybe it is all in my head. Hmm . . . I wouldn't put it past that head of mine to set me up for a struggle. It's been known to do things like that. Silly head.

The good thing is that I got the speedwork done and it won't come around on the schedule again until next week.

So. That means I have another rest day today in preparation for tomorrow's tempo run and Sunday's 13 miler. If you get a chance, send some sunny, warm weather vibes my way for Sunday. Yes, I can handle 20 degrees but it would be so much better if the temperature rose to the 30s for my long run. Thanks!

13 comments:

Aron said...

great job on the speedwork!! i totally feel you on that, it leaves me out of breath and dripping too... but feels SO good when you are done :)

i will send you some of our weather for your sunday run!!

Mel-2nd Chances said...

Awesome speedwork! I know what you mean by you lungs and head making your run more difficult than your legs. Enjoy Sunday's 13, hope you have great weather.

BeachRunner said...

Way to loosen up those buns with some impressive winter speedwork! Nicely done.

X-Country2 said...

Way to get the speed work done. I can't run inside or in circles, so I basically just don't do speed workout. :o)

Marlene said...

Good job getting those repeats done. I also love doing it on the treadmill.

Wishing you good weather for Sunday!

RunToTheFinish said...

I have decided I am going to try and have a new attitude about speedwork...cause I don't really like it and that isn't making it any easier.

tfh said...

Nice job on the speedwork! The thing about the treadmill is that, unlike the track, it doesn't really allow you to cheat on your speed and then say, "Ah, well, this track's distance was clearly calibrated incorrectly. I really should notify someone."

Liz said...

You go girl! Speedwork is a necessary evil--way to hang in there.

Per your request, cake recipe is now available over at my place:
http://chereavenir.blogspot.com/2009/01/serves-10-or-one-with-broken-heart.html

Let me know if/when you make it and what you think. Be prepared--it doesn't taste like anything you'll find at the grocery store, and it tastes SO GOOD.

Anonymous said...

Nice job on the speedwork. It really sucks doing it, but you feel so accomplished when done.

Hope the weather gets better for you guys.

Unknown said...

I'm lungs-limited when it comes to speedwork too.

Gotta Run..... said...

I have a love/hate relationship with speed work. Way to check the workout off your list!!!

Vava said...

Way to get that speedwork in! I haven't been able to do any (except a couple of times last summer), but I enjoyed them because I found them to be easy mentally and not boring like some long runs can be. I hope the weather warms up for you long run too!

RunnerMom said...

Speedwork is just tough. I really like my long, slow distance runs better. Great job getting it done. I hope you had nice weather on the long one!

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