That's right, I have never trained on a track (at least, not since elementary school). The handful of times I have completed intervals, it has been on quiet residential streets or the treadmill. Even running Yasso's with my clinic, we were running an 800m loop comprised of two residential blocks.
I've discovered that I can't seem to push myself hard enough to complete my intervals at goal pace when running by myself out on the streets, and I refuse to run on the treadmill in the spring/summer/fall. It's time to hit the track, starting tonight!
Hubby and I scoped out a local high school track last night that looks pretty decent. Unfortunately it's been raining all day long and it looks like it will continue through the evening, but that's not going to stop me. The track is gravel, so it shouldn't be too messy - right?!
Why the sudden interest in track workouts? I have a local 5K coming up in July, the same event where I placed first in my age group last year. This year, I intend to break 23:00.
Tonight's workout:
1.5mi warm-up
3 x 1600m at ~7:14/mi (~1:48/400m) (=4:30/km)
1.5mi cool-down
I completed a similar workout on the treadmill back in April so here's hoping I can make it happen on the track.
Any last minute advice? I don't even know how close to the inside I should be running for a 400m lap, but I guess I can figure that out on the warm-up. Wish me luck!
Embracing new goals for happiness in running and life
10 months ago
17 comments:
good luck, hope the rain holds off for you... but you are registered for the mud run... what's a little bit of wet gravel :D have fun!
Nice - good luck on that 5k - 23 minutes would be blistering for me (as in impossible!). To run exactly 400m on the track, you want to start in the 1 position and run on the inside lane. Or, alternately you can start anywhere in the inside lane as long as you finish in the same place. You can also use the other lanes if you stagger yourself (e.g. the #2 lane start will be slightly ahead of the #1 start - usually it's marked). Good luck!
yay good luck!! i actually really like doing intervals on the track. you just focus in and there isnt as many distractions.
Usually the "inside lane" is supposed to be for jogger/sprinters, soo its all you if you want it! :) outside lane for walkers.
other than that - I looove doing speed workouts on a track. you get a sense of how far you're Really going and it's FLAT! whooop. haha, hope you enjoy your first trial!!
My advice is to make sure you don't always run the same direction on the track. Go both ways. Otherwise it's too much stress on your inside knee. Share the burden.
I am a track virgin too, I would like to do some interval/speed training on one :) Hope you dodged the rain!
Oh that just remind me something... I rarely do track workout and I should incorporate this into my training regiment.
Good Luck with the 5K.
Track... man it will take a while to get me there, I think. High school track wasn't my favourite thing!
Good luck though - can't wait to hear how it went. Surely the rain will make it more "Chariots of Fire-esque"?
Good luck with the 5km!
I am not sure how much advice is going to do now as I am sure you are done with your workout but...just try to stay near the inside of lane 1 and see how it feels. I hope it went well for you! The track can be fun especially if you have a buddy!!
I hope you had a great workout. Those gravel tracks can get messy.....
Good luck! Have fun! I love the track!!
Yay! Hope it went well -- my advice would be the same as Lisa's.
hope it went well! i love the track 90% of the time. like aron said, easy to get focused and get it done. but occasionally i'm like - how many laps do i have to do around this beast? :)
I like the structure of a track since I know exactly the distance. Good luck!
I haven't been on a track in years. Good for you. I have a 5k in a couple of weeks and I need to get the legs moving faster too.
Ohhhh I haven't been back to the track in awhile. I get bored after about a week of it LOL. Inside lane is where you need to be baby!
Glad I found your blog! I've been inspired reading it this morning :)
I did my first speed workout on a track a couple of weeks ago and LOVE it. I'm trying to incorporate one into my training each week, hopefully it will help improve my speed! I hope your race went well this morning!
Post a Comment