Well my cutback week has started with no reduction in intensity so far! The downside of this is that I'm feeling pretty tired right now and the legs definitely feel like they need a rest. The upside? Well that's pretty obvious! I DO get to rest now for the remainder of the week heading into Saturday's race!
My decision to do this week's workout on Monday ahead of my usual Tuesday or Wednesday date with the track was proven to be overly cautious in relation to the weather we are actually going to receive. By Monday the weekend's forecast of ice storms and general armageddon heading our way Tuesday through Wednesday had changed to "some neighborhoods may get up to half an inch of rain"! Got to love the accuracy of the weather forecasting around here!
At the point when I heard this rather dramatic change in forecast the decision had already been made to head to the track after work yesterday, so it was with tired legs but a grim determination that I started my warm up last night. Luckily I was able to sneak out of work a bit before 5 so it was still relatively light for the first half of my workout.
The workout was 5*1600 with just a 200m jog recovery, followed by a 3 minute rest and then 4 400s with a 1:30 rest in between each. The aim was to hit 5:25s for the miles and 74s for the 400s. In the end I hit 5:20,24,23,24,24 and then 72,71,72,72 so I was very pleased with this and it provided me with a bit of the confidence booster I had alluded to in Sunday's post. If I can hit those mile splits on Saturday without the 200m jog in between each one I will be satisfied. Coach may disagree (we haven't discussed this) but I think anything under 27 minutes on Saturday should be considered satisfactory, especially on what is apparently a pretty challenging course. With at least three 'horses' (as Aaron would put it) confirmed to line up in John Compton, Ryan Woods and Ben Hovis the pace should be honest from the start if nothing else!
This morning my legs were stiff and tired as I headed out the door for my recovery run but luckily I was meeting up with the 'Miners' (including a welcome return from Jay!!) so I was able to grind out just over 7 miles with less discomfort than would have been the case had I been solo and leave myself with tomorrow off, 9 on Thursday and 4 on Friday on the schedule.
Your workout sounds tough! Good work.
ReplyDeleteI also changed my workout to tonight at AG instead of rainy Tuesday. Got a long way to go before I tackle a 5 x 1600! Go get the horses on Saturday.
- Stan