I was able to hold 800 paces that have been a struggle over the past couple years – 7:45/:52/:47/:48/:50/:35
It felt so much easier today with just some simple tweaks to my pre-run routine. Insert taking a GU gel prior to my workout instead of coffee {although the chocolate one at 6am was hard to manage} and focusing on my running form {specifically elbow drive}.
2 weeks ago I did 5x 800s, but needed 4’ recovery between each effort compared to 2’ today. And the effort felt much easier! I can’t wait to see where these simple changes take me moving forward. I’m always striving for improvement, never settling for less than my best {or what feels like my best each day}.
I do I know about you, but I seemed to sweat more AFTER this run than during 😅 and yeah, my garage is messy 😂 .
Today I choose to: Get up early {no snooze button} Do the hard things {speed work} Focus on the positives {is it a little cooler today?} Smile {instant mood booster} Spread light and life to others
The #tracktuesday workout this week: 13’ warm up jog with dynamic drills, 8x 400m + 2x 200m, 9’ cool down.
The splits, that didn’t go as quick as I would’ve liked them to: 7:02/6:57/:55/:47/:54/7:06/7:14/6:56 6:12/:25
But the view at the end … 😍
A quick stretch {and most certainly a shower} + a cup of coffee, and I’m off to a couple work meetings. Centered. Grounded. Ready for what the day delivers.
I spent a few days last week up in the mountains of western North Carolina. Ahhh…so peaceful and scenic. It was hard to come home! But, I am extremely grateful for the time I got to spend up there running and hiking the mountains and trails.
Chasing a little vert at Moses Cone Park And a little dirt
Now that I’m back home in flat Florida, my typical training resumes. I have a sprint tri in a couple weeks, and several trail races lined up this fall. My “A” race is a north Georgia mountain 50k in early November. And, today is Track Tuesday!
Our cardiorespiratory system, the heart and lungs, can’t tell the difference between speed work and climbing at slower paces. All the heart and lungs know is effort. Now the legs, they know, but that is a different topic for a different day! I do plan to mix in both speed work and hill repeats into this training block, as well as continue at least twice per week lower body strength and conditioning. I just have to work with the terrain I’ve got here in Florida to properly train for the upcoming events.
The flat and fast local track
Todays workout: 5x 800m repeats with 4 min recovery between each interval. Start with a 10-15 min warm up jog with dynamic drills (skipping, leg swings, high knees, butt kicks, carioca, etc.). Finish with another 8-10 min of easy pace running and a minute or 2 of walking.
Yes, you are allowed to walk!!! It really helps bring the heart rate down and prevent blood pooling in the legs after hard effort sessions. And, hiking workouts on the treadmill set to inclines 5% and higher can supplement trail race training too!
My pace is fast to some, slow to others, but it’s all relative. I controlled my paces today to stay sub-8 on each interval. This was not an uncomfortably hard effort, but rather felt like steady work.
The whole workout, start to finish
I could’ve gone faster, but wanted to finish feeling like I could give one more, as I have a bike sesh on tap this evening. I feel grounded and ready for the work day ahead after a workout like this!
Well I’m still around, just focusing on many different things lately! It’s a case of runner/triathlete ADD. Local triathlon races (3 since my last post!), summer vacation, 3 times a week strength training, still base building the miles, and, once again, trail running.
3rd place AG at the Heartland Olympic Tri 4th place AG at the Sommer Sports sprint in June 4th place AG at the Sommer Sports sprint in July
Speaking of those trails – I had a great trail run this past weekend at a new to me venue, the Orlando Wetlands Park. I met up with a local trail running group and ran the outer 6 mile loop, then one of the inner 3 ish mile loops. Running with these peeps is always such a blast! Good people, good attitudes, with a “no man left behind mentality”!
Heading out to start the outer loop Selfie mode! The whole gang
In order to share all these unique outdoor adventures and spaces, I created a second Instagram page just for my trail runs. Check it out @pigtails_and_trails
Since I’m still Tri training, yesterday was a 1 hour swim and light strength training day using bands for hip and glute work. This morning I got in a solid 5 miles for #tracktuesday with 5x 400m + 2x 200m nailing those goal paces!
My total running miles for July will likely fall a tad short, but I’ve also been spending my Friday mornings stand up paddling instead of running which is a nice summer time treat! And then there was a vacation in the Florida Keys and new flooring in the house … July has been very productive and a whole lot of fun! Sadly, 3 weeks and counting until we’re back to the school year routine, so I’m trying to make the most of the summer days while I can! Still a couple more adventures to go!
Track Tuesday. It’s a thing. I mean, certainly you can run a track workout any day of the week, but #trackTuesday just has a special ring to it! So, I like to partake as much as possible.
But, then there are mom responsibilities and work and all the other things that try to push my workouts aside. Try as they might, I always remember what my grandma would say. “If there’s a will, there’s a way!”. So, I’m working on making these mornings (or evenings) happen.
Speed work is my absolute favorite of all running workouts! Short intervals, such as 200 or 400 meter repeats really help keep the leg turnover strong and boost our VO2 max. There are many ways to incorporate this into your running, and you don’t even have to use a track if you can program your watch for the distance or have a way to measure out those splits. For me, the track helps me focus, and I don’t have to worry about cars, curbs, or other people so much.
My track at sunrise 😍
I’ve been building back the speed workouts lately after a hiatus of long (read: slow) distance triathlon training last year. I started with 4x 400, then 5x 400; today’s workout is listed below:
1 mile easy pace up w/ dynamic drills 6x 400m with 1’ jog in between sets 1 mile easy cool down
Speed, much like everything else, is a work in progress. My goal was to hit a 7:40 pace each interval, and I managed to go a little faster than planned at 7:33/:30/:21/:17/:26/:19. The most important part here is that I did not slow down on each interval – I actually picked up speed on all but #5. This tells me I was ok going faster than the my planned effort. If I had gotten progressively slower, or needed longer rest breaks in between, then the effort would’ve been too intense.
I’ve been working on a speed block for about the last 8 weeks. I really don’t want this to come to an end! I have some mid- and long-distance events planned later this year, but I plan to keep my track Tuesday workouts as long a I can. Consistency over time is the key to anything we do. My 5k times are gradually dropping, and while they are not quite back to where they were in years past, I am hopeful for the future!
1st place AG finisher Most recent 5k time. A 16 sec/mile drop since February with limited speed work due to a hilly half marathon in March and a trail half at the beginning of April.
“The unprepared mind cannot see the outstretched hand of opportunity.” – Sir Alexander Fleming
In other words – get your mind right, and good things (words, actions, changes) will follow. I set my mind on #tracktuesday yesterday and made it happen this morning!
The workout called for some glute activation moves, a 10 minute warm up jog + dynamic stretching, then 4x 400m with 1 min recovery. I was able to just let loose and hit paces of 7:47/:39/:28/:28. Now these aren’t fast by many standards, but I’ll take it. It’s faster than I’ve been able to go as of late, and with 2 years of endurance training under my belt I have a need for speed!
Look at that ball of fire in the sky!
The cool down jog at the end brought more of that glorious sunrise into view. What an amazing way to start the day! Winter has been pretty gloomy and my body has been craving the sun and serotonin for weeks now. Plus, it feels really nice to have a little comfortable pep in my step again. So thankful for this opportunity!
Determined to Tri AND Run 