Tomorrow morning I am doing my first session of speedwork in quite a while. I haven't done speedwork consistently since last October, when I was trying to come back from the Burning River 100 and was still shot from the race and going no where fast as I prepared for the Columbus Marathon. At Columbus, I ran a disappointing 3:05, hitting the 20-mile mark in like 2:17 and running out of gas because I hadn't developed my race legs.
Anyway, there is no longer any room for excuses in not doing speedwork--actually, there are never any excuses for a serious runner not to do speedwork. If I want to be a better runner and accomplish my goals (namely a sub-3-hour marathon), I can't just do tempos and long runs; I must also do weekly speedwork. Here is what I'm doing tomorrow, with the understanding that I only have about 65 minutes with which to work:
20 minute warmup with striders
1600 at 5:38 pace
400 cooldown
1600 at 5:38 pace
400 cooldown
1600 at 5:38 pace or better
400 cooldown
15-20 minute cooldown
Unfortunately, tomorrow morning it will be cold--29 degrees. I will still get in my speedwork but may have to exercise good judgment with pacing to avoid injury. If it's raining, I will do my speedwork on my treadmill. Either way, speedwork begins tomorrow. I will report back on how it goes. This blog will keep my accountable.
Blogs are definitely good for that! Hope the workout goes well! Running 600s in the wind and hail last night at Solon was certainly interesting.
ReplyDeleteYes, beware of speed work in cold weather. I believe there is a direct connection between the speed workouts and races I have done in cold weather and my recent spate of injuries. I went to the track yesterday, and after a couple of warm-up miles, decided that I would forgo the speed work. I could not get loose, and I was concerned about making my bad Achilles worse.
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