Eric came over yesterday to get me out to the Hopkington track for some speedwork. It's literally been 15 years since speedwork meant something other than "occasionally run faster when on a regular run" so the whole event was a bit of a challenge. Here's what we did:
- 1 mile warmup, conversational pace
- 6 x400 at race pace, followed by a 400 at conversational pace
- 1/2 mile cooldown
By mutual consent, this workout was actually easier than the suggested speedwork workout from RW, which called for 800 sprints. Neither Eric nor I are there yet, but hopefully it will happen soon. I was reading the suggested beginner marathon running plan in RW last night and they had speedwork in there as well, mainly because (paraphrasing) it builds power in your legs and also helps your form (since most people tend to get lazy with their form on long runs).
I'm recovering somewhat nicely, although my calves and frontal hips are sore today. I'm hoping to get in a nice slow 3 miles at lunch today to loosen them back up.
not sore today (surprisingly), but i did spend an hour in the dr's office trying to sort out this virus. hopefully i can kick it soon... until then, i'm keeping it low key.
ReplyDeleteI hope you find the speedwork beneficial! Just the idea of doing speedwork has always sounded painful to me. But with a friend, I imagine it could be an interesting change of pace.
ReplyDeleteI also hate running on consecutive days. Even when the second day is a slow day, I just find it really rough.
Joel, did you really run your 90-something miles the last 30 days without running many consecutive days? If so, that's even more impressive!
ReplyDeleteMyself, I actually try to run on consecutive days, because I get to see the benefits of the running really stack up: I feel stronger, I lose weight, and sleep better than ever. Having said that, my legs are extra fresh after an off day, which really helps performance. Unfortunately, due to family and work commitments, I usually have to do lots of shorter mileage rather than a few extra long runs. I also am really feeling my calves and hammies after two short (3 mile) run days yesterday and today after that speed workout. (And Joel, you're right: it is painful. There's no doubt.) Time to listen to the body and take a day off.
Eric, what's the prognosis?
Well, since the 30 days was calculated backward from a Sunday, it included 5 weekends. The weekend runs during that period accounted for 67 miles. The other 23 miles were accomplished with 7 additional runs. So, yeah, no back-to-back days.
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