Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Speedwork & Swim

I am happy to report that I finally got back to my regular swim routine and hit the pool bright and early with a 4am wake up call. First, last night's speedwork session. On the schedule: 4 x 800 w/:45 RI, 2 x 400 What I actually did:
warm-up, plyos, core circuit (~ 30 minutes)
800 - 4:01 (8:08 pace/175 bpm)
RI - 1:01
800 - 4:05 (8:09 pace/181 bpm)
RI - :42
800 - 4:04 (8:18 pace/182 bpm)
*I don't get how the pace is 8:18 when it's one second faster than the second interval?
RI - :56
800 - 4:14 (8:22/184 bpm)
Bathroom break
400 - 1:47 (7:13/170 bpm)
RI - 2:42
400 - 1:55 (7:40/172 bpm)
RI - 2:19
400 - 1:46 (7:11/171 bpm)

It blows my mind most of you guys run long distances at my interval paces. Good news -- I am not the slowest person at my speedsessions anymore. A couple of new girls have been showing up lately and they started running the 800 with me. They both took off half way through and finished before me, BUT they were only able to do 2 of the 800's before they quit on the workout. I wonder if they'll slow down next time? A couple of things I need to work on: Pace - I was supposed to run the 800's closer to 5:00, but the first two just felt so good I stuck with it. The second two, not so much. I know hitting your time is very important and will definitely come into play when I begin to do longer intervals like mile repeats etc. Bottom line, I need to hold back at the beginning of the interval. Rest Intervals - Again, go out too fast and I need a longer rest interval before I can hit the next one. This is not what I need to be doing. I need to hold back so that I can take shorter rests. I was supposed to only take about :45 rest, but I was all over the place. PAY ATTENTION when I hit my lap button and stay engaged on the rest intervals. **I had no idea I was supposed to do the 400's and only found out after I hit the head and saw one of the guys doing them. (Usually I am one of the last ones to finish). So that was kind of a shocker and had I known that I probably would have gone slower on the 800's like I should have done regardless. ************ Swim: 1700 meters/~45 minutes

150 free warmup
100 kick
100 pull
8x75 - odds backstroke, evens choice (:25 rest)
4 x 100 IM* (:30 rest)
100 kickboard vertical w/drag
250 cooldown
* since I don't know how to do fly, I replace with free
I totally stuck to the workout down to the rest intervals (which I rarely do). Lately I've been taking longer breaks and now I know why doing 1700 meters never really felt like a workout. Duh!

17 comments:

X-Country2 said...

Great speed workout! It always feels good to beat a few people. :o)

Amy - the gazelle said...

awesome workout! I always do my 800s at about 4:00, too, even though I'm supposed to be closer to 4:30-4:45....4:00 just feels so right! :)

Amy said...

Both workouts look great. I'm so impressed you woke up at 4AM! Wowza.

Niki said...

Wow! Great job on both workouts! Way to make yourself get up super early!

{will run for margaritas} said...

AWESOME workout! I am doing your track workout tonight (the one you posted last week) and am SO excited about it! :) I'll let you know how it goes!

Chloe said...

That damn 4am hour! Congrats on making it to practice!!

Nice speed workouts. I know the feeling about just going with how you feel - but I'm right there with you about needing to hold back.

So those girls just left 1/2 way through the workout? No good!

Chic Runner said...

nice job on the track workout! I would have been weirded out about the girls leaving.. random!

Alisa said...

Nice job on both workouts. I need to do a track session sometime soon!

I never feel like anything less than 2000 yards in the pool is much of a workout. But then again I haven't been doing many speed sets. I've been doing lots of long intervals.

KK said...

1st things 1st-4am? You are tougher than most.

Secondly, I thought your speedwork was your swim workout and my eyes bugged out of my head at how fast you swam an 800...then I realized I must have skipped over some important words and went back and clarified :)

Third, about the pacing, I am the same as you. I go balls out and try to hold it which ends up being not very consistent but somehow it makes me feel better about myself. I have real issues with this, so don't feel bad, you're not the only one.

Lastly, I hear ya about your fear of road biking. I don't kno many people who haven't gotten hit by a car so it is natural for you to want to seek the solitude of the trails. I just got to the point where the trails were beating me up more than the road would have...

Great workouts!

Anonymous said...

Great job all around! I need to wake up at 4:15 to get to the pool before work, so I feel your pain. However, it is nice to have it out of the way.

Aron said...

great job on all the workouts! awesome job getting up soooo early :)

Christy said...

Wow! You really do wake up early! You are such an inspiration. I will definitely think of you when I want to keep hitting the snooze instead of working out. What does your husband do that keeps him away from you for 75 days at a time?

Running and living said...

Awesome job with the workouts! I have the same problem with the speed intervals, go out too fast and have a hard staying consistent with the pace. By the end of my last marathon cycle I got better at it, so I am sure with time it will get easier for you, too! Ana-Maria

Missy said...

Yeah, when I fly, I look like I'm drowning! I was having sympathy pains for ya at 4am, so gross BUT I did get a shitload done today!

Nice job out there.

joyRuN said...

FOUR AM?! I can never ever complain about getting up early to get a run in. Ever!

Nice intervals :)

Jamie said...

Shoot, now I feel all guilty complaining about my 4am wake up call on Monday. You are hardcore! Both are great workouts! Way to get back to the pool :)

Anonymous said...

It blows my mind that you get up at 4 am to swim! Nice workouts.