First Interval Workout (And My Pre-Race Notes)

• Posted: August 8, 2008
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• Author: Shéamus
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• Filed under: Workouts
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• Tags: No tags set for this entry.

With the race less than 24 hours away, I felt it was time to put a little zoom back into my legs, if at all possible. This hasn’t been the best of weeks - my speed has been up and down, and it would be nice to know I still had a little bit of kick when the gun goes off at 0800 tomorrow.

To accomplish this, I went to a local track. My plan was to run some 400m laps, with rests in between, and then to close with one 800m and a complete mile, sprinting at the end to match the conditions of the race.

Here’s the splits:

It looks a bit of a mess, all-told, but here’s what I did:

6 x 400
1 x 800
1 x 1 mile

My fastest 400m was about 1:28. This shocked me, to be honest. I thought I’d easily be capable of about 1:10-1:15, but it wasn’t to be. It was incredibly hot and there was more than once occasion where I really felt I was going to hurl, but it still surprised me that I’m that slow. I mean, I’m 37 this year, and I never expected (or desired) to be a fast short-distance runner, but you always think you’re better than you are, I guess, until the crushing blow of reality smacks you right in the kisser. As I’ve said a few times on this blog my body and specifically my mental strength are better suited to the longer distance, but still - even at a poor 1:28, I had to run at a speed of 5:57/mile.

After 200m (5 x 400), the dreaded bathroom break once again reared its increasingly ugly head. All I had before setting out this morning was some water and about 8oz of Coke. It’s getting to me a bit, to be honest. Hopefully I’ll be spared this ritual tomorrow.

My next (and final) 400m was a 1:30, then a really quite poor 3:57 over 800m. I rested for a couple of minutes, and then closed with an okay 7:49 final mile, sprinting the last 100m or so at a pace of about 6:20. I was quite pleased with this - by this point I really felt awful and as soon as I hit the finish line I walked off the track and hurled a little.

Overall, it was an interesting workout and had some benefits - I ran a total of 3 miles which is essentially the distance tomorrow (I also warmed up with a lap of the track before starting my Garmin) and had enough kick left to sprint at the end which is comforting.

As for the race, we (my wife is also entered) picked up our race bags yesterday (which contained groovy yellow Elvis t-shirts - pictures to follow) and we’re all set to go. It’s an early start tomorrow, and we’ll be hitting the after-party (mostly because it’s sponsored by Miller and there will be free hot dogs).

As for my targets - really, anything above 24 minutes means something has gone horribly wrong, even in this heat. I’d like to break 23 minutes and I’d like to set a new PB - if I can do that, I’ll be pleased.

I’m not so worried about placing, but with an expected turnout of 3000 runners I’d like to finish in the top 20 per cent or so. That’d be great. It might sound unrealistic but the times in my age group the last couple of years indicate I could (and should) place in the top ten there, so I’m hopeful for a reasonable overall placing.

Above all, however, I just hope I run well, enjoy the day, and don’t end up hurting myself!

Wish me luck!

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