Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Track Workout

Track workouts are hard because I forget that they have the word "workout" in them.  It's like each time I do one I have a mental adjustment when I realize that its tough.  Tonight was no exception.


This morning I was considering not going to track.  I was tired and had a gazillion chores to do and was very close to not packing my running stuff for track. I read Coach Deans post about "I'm not in the mood"  and realized that I just had to do it. (Ever see Shopgirl and he says "you said just do it" and so he did.  Love that movie).  Coach Dean says
There are times runners simply need to get out and do the work. Most of us (I’ll say almost all of us?) love running. But, there is a difference in loving to run and wanting to train appropriately for a target race and actually do what is necessary to improve. Moods cannot dictate this. Even personal preferences of workouts cannot dictate this (otherwise we will only do what we like or want). But, a Helter Skelter approach to training is a key reason why runners do not progress.
 He goes on to say
My advice to you is that regardless of your mood – do your scheduled workout. (Of course with the caveat stated above about reading your body.) Just get out and do it.
Three things will most likely happen:
1. You will surprise yourself that it isn’t as bad as you thought and you actually complete the workout. AND you feel better afterwards.
2. You definitely take a huge step in mental toughness – which you will need in your race.
3. You will be a better runner for it.

I packed my stuff thinking I could always change my mind and not run.  Come 5 pm there was no additional question, I knew I was going.

It's been about 3 weeks since I've done a track workout and even warming up I felt heavy and sluggish (I've felt this way for a couple weeks now on just regular runs).  It could be a combination of the following:

  • I gave blood 2 weeks ago and haven't fully recovered
  • My weight is up after last weeks robust eating and drinking
  • My knee is still sore after my spill on the trail run
  • My calf's are tight, some from my spill and/or compensating for my knee 
  • Its getting warmer and takes more effort
  • I like looking for reasons to complain
Our workout was 800, 400, 200, 1000; rinse and repeat.  The recovery time is a full recovery and in my opinion, way too long of 3 min, 2 min, 1 min then 5 in-between sets.  The 5 minute in-between the set makes sense but the other ones are too long.  Once the workout started the heavy legs left but I still felt winded and slow.  My times on the first set weren't too bad considering how I felt and I was certainly slower the second set but the times are better than I thought
Set 1 3:30, 1:39, 47, 4:28
Set 2 3:33, 1:42, 51,4:26

So I am glad that I got out there that I pushed through the sluggish and heavy feeling and got a quality run in.

Happy Running!

15 comments:

Johann said...

That is very impressive! Well done! I hate track workouts and use the “training for ultras” excuse not to do them.

Ewa said...

Nice workout.
Now that I am injured I would love track workouts (normally I hate them). So if anyone out there dreads going to the track, trust me, not being able to do so is even worse.
I can't even pretend "I train for ultras". :)

Allie said...

Good job for getting out there and doing it. That is my biggest problem, I cave too easily, I need to borrow some of your will power.

Unknown said...

I love those quotes and notes. I'm starting track work with my running group this year and I've already been told it's a losing battle and everyone will hate it. I love you positive attitude about it, and I am going to spread it to my group!! Everyone has been running casually but want to get faster, yet don't understand the need for focus.

Katie A. said...

Hahaha! We have the same blog post title today :)
It's funny, I actually look forward to my track workouts! I love to run fast and love how it breaks up the usual running - call me crazy!
Nice job on the workout, they really do make us stronger ;)

RunToTheFinish said...

wow what an interesting comment from the coach. I would say 90% of the time I agree, my mood shouldn't dictate whether i put in the effort or not..but that's easier said than done :)

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you decided to hit the track after all. You did a great job and even if you thought the recoveries were too long, your coach probably has an idea of why. Right?

I can't wait to hit the track again this summer.

Lesley Looper said...

Interesting thoughts! Since my workouts have become more focused, and often harder, I don't always feel like doing them. But deep down, I love running, and I sooo want to improve!

Afterward, I'm usually glad I ran, though not always, especially if I felt slow or tired, or my numbers weren't what I wanted. But in the big scheme of things, I think I'll be a better runner!

The heat is affecting me too, though, so after a winter/spring of speeding up, I'm slowing down again. (Okay, and there's the foot pain too!) I'm beginning to think I'll have to look at the big picture here and keep training with my eye on faster times come fall.

RunKathyRun said...

This is timely information; thanks for putting it out there. Good job on getting a tough track workout in the books!

Carrie said...

You inspire me Christina.

Emz said...

Way to go!! I think I needed to read this this morning . . . feeling "sluggish" to say the least.

Giorgio said...

Great post Christina and Congrats for improving your quality run!

My friends Stefano and Paola like blogging. But other Italian friends of my running team don't like blogging. Of consequence, my runner blog friends aren't Italian. Most blog's runners, who I follow, are from Canada, USA, Belgium and South Africa.
I hope that you'll have a nice running weekend :)

Post scriptum: I like Arizona's colours such as brown and beige. Although I've never been to Arizona I'm sure that it's beautiful.

Black Knight said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Black Knight said...

Impressive workout, well done. It needs a lot of concentration. Quality is so important as the appropriate mileage. Very interesting post.

Tina @GottaRunNow said...

I second what the coach said about how you might surprise yourself! : )