Monday, July 13, 2009

Flashback Monday?

Team BHI apologizes for the unannounced outage on Flashback Friday, a day you so anxiously await. However, my services were needed elsewhere.

Coincidentally, my Thursday track session provided perfect fodder for a flashback, and so you will get it today. Rest easy, fans of failure. There are some lowlights ahead just for you.

I have returned to using a track I ran at for most of last year, and that return has meant seeing some old friends. The past two Thursdays, I have had to share the lanes with a youth track team, a rather varied team that ranges from I'd guess 7 to 13 years old. And it's the same coaches who specialize in cluttering the open lanes and inspiring vituperate rants from this runner.

Thursday's schedule called for eight repeats of 400 meters at sub-1:40 (6:42 per mile). The track team was running short repeats on the first curve in lanes 1-5, and some other kids who seemed to just be watching milled about the other lanes. There were also a lot of walkers using the track. The crowded lanes and hot sun made for a particularly draining workout.

My first five intervals probably looked more like sine waves than laps around a track. As I started my intervals in Lane 5, I had to swing wide around the team and then swing back in to avoid the other people using the outer lanes. I torched the first 400 and managed to hit my pace on the first three repeats.

But then, I started to falter. I grew tired and hot. My recovery laps became slower and slower, and my water breaks lasted longer. The team's practice seemed to draw to an end, as the kids ran cool-down drills in the infield. Two of the of my last three intervals were on pace, for an overall average of 1:38.5 per 400 meters (6:34 per mile). Considering the crowd and heat, I'll take it.

And now the statistical rundown:
  • Intervals: 8 x 400 meters
  • Goal pace: Sub-1:40 per interval (6:42 per mile)
  • Lap 1: 1:28.81 (5:54 per mile)
  • Lap 2: 1:38.25 (6:34 per mile)
  • Lap 3: 1:36.06 (6:26 per mile)
  • Lap 4: 1:43.31 (6:54 per mile) FAIL
  • Lap 5: 1:43.06 (6:54 per mile) FAIL
  • Lap 6: 1:39.05 (6:38 per mile)
  • Lap 7: 1:41.78 (6:46 per mile) FAIL
  • Lap 8: 1:37.72 (6:30 per mile)
  • Average pace: 1:38.5 (6:34 per mile)
  • Total distance: 5.7 miles
[Drunkard's note: Total distance includes one mile warm up, 400-meter recovery laps and one mile cool down.]

I think I'll try arriving at the track later, to avoid the bulk of the track team's practice. Since I'm seeing my old track friends, perhaps this week I'll run into a certain crimson crusader.

Weekend Restart
The remainder of my weekend consisted of an eight-miler at marathon race pace on Saturday and a 16-miler on Sunday. I pretended to be smart and carried my water bottle on both runs and mowed down more Jolly Ranchers during my long run. I ran at 9:06 per mile on Saturday and 9:32 per mile on Sunday -- pretty solid for me. I have felt good these past two weekends, as my mileage has continued to climb. Today will be a welcome recovery run.

I hope you all ran well and drank well this weekend. Cheers!

10 comments:

BrianFlash said...

"vituperate"? Impressive vocabulary.

My intervals must be having a positive effect, because I did run well this weekend smoking the Major League Baseball All Star 5K, but as for drinking...not so much.

Sun Runner said...

Nice job in the heat. :)

I drank well at the beach yesterday, coming away with two Young's Double Chocolate Stouts in my stomach and a nice case of sunburn. Oh and I ran 8 miles on Saturday in the rain. It was a good weekend.

Ms. V. said...

...you had me at Jolly Ranchers...again.

Jess said...

Despite the self-proclaimed "fails," it seems the intervals were largely successful. And nice job on both weekend runs! That's a marathon's worth of mileage, just split into two days.

Ms. V. said...

um. i put your post from my blog on twitter. made me laugh so hard. why aren't you tweeting??!!

Spike said...

you and I seem to have the same "FAIL" points during our track sessions. maybe we should just skip the middle repeats.

Carolina John said...

yea the heat was killing me this weekend too. at least we made it through to see it rain today.

X-Country2 said...

It's been hot and steamy around here too. I mentally cut off 10% and calculate from there. :o)

Aileen said...

Good work with the heat. It's really been taking a toll on me, sadly.

B.o.B. said...

intervals looked good to me. had two blue moon's this weekend. excellent beer. (i know two is lame but i am in training mode.)