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