Sometimes things just go haywire. I had 5×400 intervals planned for this morning– a short, hard workout, and I didn’t think I’d have a hard time fitting it in. But then, I missed my train. And the following train was 10 minutes late. And I had a 9:30 meeting. So, I went straight to the gym when I finally made it to the office, dressed in a hurry, ran, took the world’s fastest shower and just made it to the meeting on time, still sweating. It worked.
However, I didn’t have time for 5×400– just 4×400. But I ran both the work and rest intervals at super speed, and I finished the 2 miles in 22:11. The work intervals were at 10:00 pace, which is blistering fast for me. (For new readers: I am slow.) The last work interval wasn’t fun, but I feel like I can push it a bit faster next time. I’ve never run on the treadmill faster than 10:00. It might be weird…
My low back’s still been bugging me, especially on hills (running outside yesterday on Killer Hills Route was a reminder). I’m pretty sure it’s because I’m letting my legs be lazy– instead of pushing off with my calves and quads, I’m letting my hips swing around to make the stride, putting a lot of strain on my back. My legs are strong, they can handle it! I just have to be sure to pay attention to my stride when my legs start to get tired.
Yikes, 10:00 is super fast! When I did run, I was much much much slower than you (or anyone). I literally ran no faster than I walked. LOL whatever, it’s all good. Congrats on the speed.
Heh, thanks! It’s definitely an improvement for me, and I’ve been working hard on getting a little faster, so I’m pleased– if a little shocked by it all.
But we’re all at where we’re at, right? That’s always something I struggle with on this blog, posting “times talk”– there are lots of slow runners out there, and we sometimes feel shut out of running spaces, but really our speeds are all relative, we’re all moving in our own good time and that’s okay. So don’t put yourself down!