Today was speed work and I did two things very uncharacteristic for me: (1) I did it outside vs. the treadmill, and (2) I did it with another triathlete. I almost always train alone aside from the occasional ride or casual run. Speed work isn't particularly social but it turned out nice to have the company.
We met in Central Park bright and early and decided to stay on the lower loop to avoid the more challenging hills. Running speed intervals uphill just didn't seem like fun. The workout consisted of six 4-minute anaerobic intervals with an easy 1-minute rest interval, plus additional easy running to round it out.
I am no good at pacing myself outside and unfortunately the Garmin isn't always accurate in showing the pace I'm currently moving so I had to go somewhat on perceived effort. The first interval felt absolutely brutal. Just one minute in I wondered how I'd survive another three and then turn around and do it five more times. At one point the Garmin showed a pace below a 6-minute mile, but I couldn't be sure of how fast it really was.
The intervals got a little easier in the middle and then harder again at the end. The rest intervals felt like two seconds. While it was a tough run for me, it was actually pretty fun. We checked the splits when we finished and the first one was a 6:15 pace - no wonder it felt brutal! The others were between 7:08 and 7:38 pace, right in my anaerobic range of 7:11-7:45. Not a bad way to start the day.
Running
Distance - 6.85 miles
Time - 1:00:00
Intervals can be social and they can push you (sometimes too hard).
ReplyDeleteThat first interval probably slowed you down for the rest - that is a tough way to do speed work - I know, I do it that way all the time.