Great track session

Last night I finally made it out to one of Ian's Wednesday night track sessions...it was all Anne said it was!

The plan was to run 2 x 1000m at a pace of 5 seconds slower than 5k race pace, 3 x 800m at 5k race pace and finishing with 3 x 600m at a pace of 5 seconds faster than 5k race pace. We were to rest 2.5 minutes between each repeat.

Now because we were running inside my Garmin watch wouldn't be able to pick up a satellite and provide the right paces for me. So I'd have to rely on the times Ian set for me to complete each distance. For the 1000m repeats I would have to run them in 3 minutes and 59 seconds, the 800m in 3:07 and the 600m in 2:17.  

I had no idea if I could run those distances in the times allotted or how I'd feel after each repeat, but off I went.

Ian wasn't at the session, but his partner Michelle was there to help organize and lead the group. Once we had warmed-up and stretched, we were off on our first 1000m leg. I was following Michelle and a group of guys who were setting the pace. By the halfway point I found myself leading everyone.

Was I going too fast? I felt strong and I was breathing ok. I completed the first 1000m in 3 minutes and 50 seconds. Nine seconds faster than I was supposed to run it, but I felt fine and after the rest I was ready to go again.

This time around I ran beside a guy named Jason who was running similar paces to me. I decided to stay with him and run closer to my prescribed time/pace. We finished the second 1000m in 3:51. Still fast, but  I was still feeling good.

I ran all the 800m repeats along side Jason. And while we intended to run closer to our planned pacing, we completed each 800m right around 3 minutes even. Still ahead of the plan, but I was good. No problem with the faster paces. No problems until the second last 600m repeat.

I'm not sure if it was the lingering cold from the week before or if it was because I had run faster than I was supposed to during the first set of repeats or a combination of the two, but the last two 600m repeats were tough.

I ran the first 600m in 2:07. I was now starting to feel the burn in my legs and was coughing up some serious phlegm. So I consciously ran the next one slower. Jason followed my lead and we ran it in exactly 2:17. Bang on pace, but I was still coughing up crap and my heart was pounding. Maybe this was the way it was supposed to feel.

The last 600m I couldn't keep up with Jason and fell in behind two other guys. I thought I'd draft off them and then give a push at the end. There was no push, but I did run the repeat slightly faster than the previous one, finishing in 2:14.

More coughing, gasping for air, I was done!

After I caught my breath, I jogged about 1k to cool down which helped get things back to "normal" - meaning I stopped hacking up phlegm and got my heart rate under control.

No doubt it was a tough training session, but in a perverse sort of way it felt good to run fast and test my limits. And it wasn't on a treadmill.

Confidence builder

Last night (Wednesday) I was scheduled to meet my coach Ian, his spouse Michelle and a few others at an indoor track just east of Ottawa at 8pm for a speed workout. However, the Canadian junior hockey team was playing the Russian junior team in the gold-medal game of the World Junior Hockey Championship starting at 7:30pm.

I was conflicted! I wanted to run, but this was going to be a great game and in my opinion a sure win for Canada.

PVring the hockey game was not an option as we eliminated that from our cable package a few months ago. And the thought of going out into the frigid night was not appealing in the slightest. Have I mentioned how much I hate winter?

I sheepishly called Ian and explained my dilemma. I don't think he was moved by my predicament, but did agree that converting the track session to a speed workout on the treadmill another day this week would be just as beneficial.

So I bailed on the track. As it turns out, I shouldn't have.

Canada blew a 3-0 lead in the third period and lost 5-3 in what is likely the biggest collapse by any Canadian hockey team ever! It was shocking and I'm sure the entire country was reeling this morning. I'm still stunned.

Anyway, I did the speed workout today at lunch. I warmed up at a 5:15 minutes per km pace for 1.5k. Then I did four repeats of 600m each at a 3:50 minutes per km pace, with 2-minute jogs at a 6:00 minutes per km pace between each repeat. That was followed by 4 repeats of 400m each at a 3:40 minutes per km pace, with 3-minute jogs at a 6:00 minutes per km pace. The session finished with five repeats of 200m each at a blistering 3:26 minutes per km pace, with 3.5-minute jogs at a 6:00 minutes per km pace.

And while my legs are a bit tired now, the session felt great and was not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. In fact it wasn't tough at all. I felt great through each repeat and was easily able to hold the pace for the required distance.

This run indicates to me that I'm faster and stronger than I was when I started working with Ian and I'm feeling more confident than I was when he revealed my goal time for the race next Saturday.

I have to admit, the last few days I've been worried about that goal time of 1:28:30. As I mentioned in an earlier post, that's a full six minutes faster than any other half marathon I've ever run.

However, today I'm almost convinced....I just hope I don't finish the race the way the Canadian junior team finished their hockey game last night!

My coach hates me!

I must have done something in the last 32 years to piss-off my long-time friend Ian. And obviously he's taking advantage of his new position as my running coach to pay me back!

Why else would he have me doing a speed session on Christmas Day?

The last two days have been solid training days of 8k each at a pace of just over 5 minutes per kilometre for a total of 41 minutes for each run. And although my legs have been feeling a bit stiff each morning, after each run and accompanying stretching session I've been feeling great!

Today Ian has me scheduled to do another 8kms, but he's added a sinister twist in the form of 2 repeats in the middle of the run broken down as follows: 500m @ 3:45 per km pace, then slowing to a 4:05 per km pace for 500m and finishing with 1km @ a 4:45 per km clip. With no rests or jogs between each set.

So we've finished unwrapping gifts, had breakfast and I'm off to the gym in a few minutes. I suppose the good thing about a Christmas day run is I won't feel guilty stuffing my face with turkey and all the trimmings later!

Enjoy your Christmas!