Tonight's track workout: 1 mi warmup + 8 x 800 I + 8 x 400 E recovery + 4 x 100 R + 4 x 100 E recovery + 1 mi cooldown. That makes a total of 7.5 mi.
For the 9:15 pace group, that translated into the following paces: 800 I = 4:17, 100 R = 0:30, 400 E = 2:45, & 100 E = approx 1:11.
(Key: I = interval pace at 85-95% level effort, 3-5K pace; R = repetition pace at 90-95% level effort, nearly all out - pace can only be maintained for short period of time; E = easy "conversational" pace at 60-70% level effort.)
Temperature was about 35 ° F.
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Honestly, I couldn't WAIT for tonight's workout to be OVER. Not only was the workout extremely difficult & challenging, but I was already feeling tired & my mind & body just weren't into it. However, I still did the workout all the same.
Being already tired before your workout begins is never a good sign. :) The fatigue was partly mental & partly physical: In addition to my mind being restless & shall we say, "uncooperative" ;-P, I also ran 7 mi yesterday & did 3 challenging sets of 4 x strides. Looking back on it, maybe that wasn't such a good idea. :)
As a result of all of the above factors, I found it difficult to keep up with my pace group. Frankly, I could barely hold on for the first two laps & then just lost them after that. Bluntly put, I flat out failed to meet tonight's pace objective. At the very least, I can console myself with the fact that it wasn't due to a lack of effort!
It's hard to determine what I would've done had my legs been feeling "fresh" (instead of my attitude :) ) & my head been in the right mental zone. It might be that the 9:15 pace group is too ambitious for me, & that I need to drop back to the 9:30 group. In order to come to that decision, I've decided to use the next track workout with the 9:15 group as a "final test" of sorts. And yes, I fully intend to approach this next workout with a rested body & a much better attitude before reconsidering. :)
While I'm not exactly ecstatic over tonight's performance, I still realize that every time we try & fail, valuable information can still be gained through the experience. Our failures often teach us more than our successes. The lessons we learn through our experiences can only make us stronger & better-informed, not to mention better human beings.
For the 9:15 pace group, that translated into the following paces: 800 I = 4:17, 100 R = 0:30, 400 E = 2:45, & 100 E = approx 1:11.
(Key: I = interval pace at 85-95% level effort, 3-5K pace; R = repetition pace at 90-95% level effort, nearly all out - pace can only be maintained for short period of time; E = easy "conversational" pace at 60-70% level effort.)
Temperature was about 35 ° F.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Honestly, I couldn't WAIT for tonight's workout to be OVER. Not only was the workout extremely difficult & challenging, but I was already feeling tired & my mind & body just weren't into it. However, I still did the workout all the same.
Being already tired before your workout begins is never a good sign. :) The fatigue was partly mental & partly physical: In addition to my mind being restless & shall we say, "uncooperative" ;-P, I also ran 7 mi yesterday & did 3 challenging sets of 4 x strides. Looking back on it, maybe that wasn't such a good idea. :)
As a result of all of the above factors, I found it difficult to keep up with my pace group. Frankly, I could barely hold on for the first two laps & then just lost them after that. Bluntly put, I flat out failed to meet tonight's pace objective. At the very least, I can console myself with the fact that it wasn't due to a lack of effort!
It's hard to determine what I would've done had my legs been feeling "fresh" (instead of my attitude :) ) & my head been in the right mental zone. It might be that the 9:15 pace group is too ambitious for me, & that I need to drop back to the 9:30 group. In order to come to that decision, I've decided to use the next track workout with the 9:15 group as a "final test" of sorts. And yes, I fully intend to approach this next workout with a rested body & a much better attitude before reconsidering. :)
While I'm not exactly ecstatic over tonight's performance, I still realize that every time we try & fail, valuable information can still be gained through the experience. Our failures often teach us more than our successes. The lessons we learn through our experiences can only make us stronger & better-informed, not to mention better human beings.