On my schedule from my new running coach today was a 4x400 speed workout. I was supposed to run 1 mile as a warmup and 1 mile as a cool down. And, basically, we use the McMillan Running Calculator to figure out how fast I should be going. My times are based on my fastest mile EVER...9:43! (which I did on the beach in June)
Here's an email I sent my coach after today's run. I hope she likes DETAIL!
"Well, I did the 4x400 workout this morning on a treadmill. Boy, was it TOUGH!!! I had to mentally talk myself into sticking with it 4 or 5 times. But, I DID IT!!! And, I set a new PR for a 5K! (though it was on a treadmill, so doesn't quite count the same)
Here's what I did...
I did a warmup mile at a slow (I know!) 4.6, which is a 13:02 pace. This actually seemed kinda slow & I thought about bumping it up, but I knew this was only the beginning!
After 1 mile, I bumped it up to 6.1 (9:50 mile pace, so 2:27.5 pace). HR settled at 63.
Ran 2 mins at 5.0 (12:00 pace)
Ran 2nd .25 miles at 6.1. HR at 65.
Ran 2 mins at 5.0.
Ran 3rd .25 miles at 6.1. HR at 67. (Big mental battle to start this run!)
Ran 2 mins at 5.0. (Big mental battle to not slow this down a LOT, but kept at 5.0!)
Ran 4th .25 miles at 6.1. HR at 69, though got to 71 briefly.
Ran 12 mins (1 mile) at 5.0. Another mental battle! The first few minutes I wanted to STOP!!! But, it actually started feeling almost easier as I went on. My HR was 65 most of this & dropped to 63 the last few mins.
So, all together I ran 3.56 miles (without a SINGLE WALKING STEP!!! AMAZING!!!) in 41:42. My PR for a 5K was from the CB&I triathlon (which was CRAZY as I walked about 1/2 the time...I must have been running fast!) of 36:40. When the treadmill reached 3.1 miles, I was at 36:10!!! 30 seconds off my PR!!! And, when I finished and calculated the LAST 3.1 miles instead of the FIRST (so less of the warm up at 13:00 and more of the faster running at 12:00), I ran 3.1 miles in 35:43!!! That's SO exciting as my 'realistic' 5K goal is 35:00 and my 'dream' 5K goal (in near future) is 33:00! SOMEDAY...I'd like to be under 30:00, but that still seems like a fantasy!
As I mentioned, I did a spin class yesterday, so this run is after a HARD day. (I'm suprisingly not sore!) I'm also going on a group bike ride tonight. I think we're going 16 miles.
I haven't decided what I'm doing for a workout tomorrow. And, I'm still unsure as to whether I'll do my 5 mile run on Friday or Sunday. I'll let you know!
By the way, I'm already looking at the 3x800 run in 2 weeks and thinking...could I??? That sounds TOUGH!!! And, today's run was a BEAST, but I DID IT! Thanks for believing in me!"
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