It’s been a while, but after my impromptu race last week I decided that yes, I’m ready, it’s time to start track workouts again.
I had evening plans last night (HAPPY BIRTHDAY 6x6!!!), which meant that yesterday morning my 5:05 alarm sounded – time to get up for a CAR workout! (Morning workouts start at 6:30 and warming up starts at 6:15, but the track is a long metro ride away from my apartment.)
Some people love the endurance challenge running mileage, others love the competition and test of racing, but I like the fusion of those factors – basically, I love workouts. When done right, they’re hard but not excruciating; long but not boring; and teammates push each other but do not race. Plus, if all things go according to plan, workouts get better and better and serve as a weekly reminder that your efforts are paying off.
This is a good getting-back-into-things workout: 2 x Mile + 2 x 800.
We were all kind of getting back into things this week. My teammates have been doing hill repeats (instead of track work) all summer, and I have only been running mileage. Plus this was my first workout in a while, so I had no real expectations: Run. Feel good doing it. Don’t hurt myself. Fin.
Anyone can (and should?) try this workout, even if you don’t have a track full of excellent runners to pull you along! Miles and half-miles are an easy distance to map out on trails or in your neighborhood. Plus, since the repeats are on the longer side, there’s no need to run crazy-fast…maybe go for 5k pace for the miles? And then the 800s should be a bit faster. Consult Coach George’s pace chart here to find out the times you should run based on your race paces.
The Workout: Miles and 800s
Total distance: about 8 miles
- Warm up: Jog 15 minutes
- Drills and strides (watch a video of how to do them)
- 1600m (1 mile), jog 800m recovery
- 1600m (1 mile), jog 800m recovery
- 800m (1/2 mile), jog 400m recovery
- 800m (1/2 mile)
- Cool down: Jog 15 minutes
I recovered fine (and am not a marathoner anyways), so hooray for track workouts!!!
And for those who care (i.e. my dad), I started slow and finished fast: 6:32, 6:12, 2:51, 2:52.
And for those who care (i.e. my dad), I started slow and finished fast: 6:32, 6:12, 2:51, 2:52.