faster stronger fitter

1. Distance assigned: 8*800m repeats Distance ran: as assigned Ave temp 77 degrees. Climbed to 85 by the end of the run. Gotta love summer! 15 min warm up & cool down (the running path is 1.5k from my house).

2. Pace assigned: 5:00, including a walk break; 3 minute rest between segments Pace actually run: Mostly I took 20 sec walk breaks. A couple were 30 seconds.
Summary: I looked at how I was doing and tried to speed up as I progressed through the workout. I am very pleased, especially since I stayed up too late last night watching a movie with my kids).

1-800 05:16.4
2-800 05:18.6
3-800 05:08.1
4-800 05:23.4
5-800 04:25.8
6-800 05:00.7
7-800 04:52.6
8-800 04:54.7

Yippeee! I got 5 minutes or better for half the segments - and the second half of them at that!

The gory details. You'll see a couple times I missed the lap button at the 600m mark.

01:19.4
01:19.4
01:27.3
01:10.3
1-800 05:16.4
01:17.4
01:22.6
00:00.0
02:38.6
2-800 05:18.6
01:16.4
01:13.5
01:30.3
01:07.9
3-800 05:08.1
01:19.8
01:21.8
00:00.0
02:41.8
4-800 05:23.4
01:08.1
01:03.9
01:15.1
00:58.7
5-800 04:25.8
01:13.9
01:04.1
01:30.8
01:11.9
6-800 05:00.7
01:16.1
01:14.9
00:00.0
02:21.6
7-800 04:52.6
01:17.4
01:12.6
01:18.7
01:06.0
8-800 04:54.7


3. Walk break ratio assigned: 30 sec Walk break ratio used: 20-30 sec

4. Speed-work done: I tried to push harder for the last 100 meters of each segments and worked on keeping a slower pace for the first half and then accelerating in the second half. Most of the "work" is the self-talk to convince myself I can run faster and to push through the discomfort. My form improves when I run a little faster - right foot straightens out.

5. Any aches/pains? No. I got a new pair of shoes yesterday. To test my theory that maybe knee issues related to my shoes rather than my body, I purposefully switched brands - going from asics to a pair of Brooks that I picked because they have a flatter foot bed - much less cupping inside the shoe. They have a little more rock (store guy said they were "faster" shoes but fine for me since I didn't make any more noise running in them while in the store. maybe these comments make sense to you - I just asked my feet what they thought.) NO knee inflammation at all today - not even now while I am writing this up. (Yeah!) My feet need to work a little harder, but I think they'll adjust just fine.

6. Questions? No.

7. Weekend workout planned for next weekend: 17.5k - I may end up slightly longer if I can't find an obvious turn around point on the beach. Maybe I can find some woods to mix it up a bit and stay in the shade.

Have a great week.
Chris

12th July: 17k Wow! Slow & steady.

1. Distance assigned: 16k Distance ran: 17k Ave temp 71 degrees.

2. Pace assigned: none. Pace actually run: total time: 2:45

3. Walk break ratio assigned: 1:1 Walk break ratio used: 1:1. Several times I forgot to stop running until 2 min - meaning a 2:1 ratio - probably less than 10 times.

4. Speed-work done: none today

5. Any aches/pains? No. Knees felt fine throughout and afterwards too. Overall felt really good. My quads felt a little fatigued the last 30 minutes or so.

6. Questions? No. Ran the beach in the rain. Learned that rain doesn't necessarily mean cold. Hard rain for the last hour was cold, though. Glad I had layered - it was fine.

7. Weekend workout planned for next weekend: 8x800m repeats

I have a feeling that the extra work, required during
beach running, was a partial cause of your quad fatigue. Normally the quads
shouldn't be used much. Try to use a "shuffle" during the last half
of your long runs, whether you run on the beach or not: keep your
feet low to the ground, short stride. When you get the shuffle right, you
don't have to use the quads at all.

You are doing great!

Updated Schedule July 09

July 12--16K
July 19--8 x 800
July 26--17.5K
Aug 2--9 x 800
Aug 9--19K
Aug 16--10 x 800
Aug 23--20.5K
Aug 30--12 x 800
Sep 6--22K
Sep 13--14 x 800
Sep 20--5K with MM
Sep 27--16K Race--Plus 3K warmup and 4K warmdown
Oct 4--5K
Oct 11--8K
Oct 18--Amsterdam Half Marathon

instructions for 800 meter repeats

Pace = 5 min/800 meters

From August:

The 12 x 800 is your focus workout for this week. You can improve the quality of these by adding some jogging to the rest interval. Instead of just walking for 3 min between each, you can walk for 20-30 steps and jog slowly for 20-30 steps. Stay smooth on these and enjoy the workout!

also:

Stay with the times assigned on the next 800 workout (30 Aug). If you want to run 2-3 seconds faster during the middle 2-3 800s, go ahead. But stay smooth and keep your stride under control.

From April:

The 800 meter repeats can be run in 5 minutes. Walk for 3 minutes between each. It helps to pace yourself so that you are running the first 400 in 2:20, walk for 30 seconds and run the second lap [more quickly].

From May:

You had a really good 800 meter workout. Here is further instructions for next time:

1. Warm up with a gentle 10 min of run-walk-run
2. Do 4 gradual accelerations (not sprints)
3. At the beginning of each 800, start your watch and don't stop it until you finish the 800 meters. 800=5 min (not 5:30)
4. Walk for 20-30 seconds at the 400, but keep the watch running.
5. Walk for 4 minutes between each one.