Wednesday, March 4, 2009

10 Miles including speed work

The past few days I have been having flu like symptoms. Yesterday it got bad enough that I decided to skip the run. I still went to work though so I don't think my body got the full rest it needed. Last night I had the worst sleep I've had in months. I kept waking up to cough up some really yummy looking stuff :P Even though I didn't sleep too well, I felt a whole lot better than the previous day. Good enough to give speed work a go.

I got to the park a little later than normal and started my first warm up mile. I felt pretty good. Hmmm, maybe my speed workout will be ok. At the end of the 1st mile I saw Sean and he recommended that I do the speed work tomorrow. I told him that I think I could do it and be fine. During my second warm up mile I could clearly see that I wasn't a 100% physically. It didn't matter because psychologically I had already committed to doing the work out.

Today's speed workout would consist of 4x1 mile at 5:05-5:11 pace with 3 minutes rest. On a healthy day I think I could do this workout. But could I do it today? I started my first rep and everything seemed fine. I seemed to run on pace except at the end I fell off pace just a little bit. I sped up to make it in at 5:10. I didn't feel too winded or tired. So I thought to myself, I have a chance.

The second rep went in similar fashion to the first rep. I ran on pace until the end and had to speed up to make it in at 5:11. I felt some fatigue but mentally and physically I thought I had some more in the tank to hold me through the workout.

During the third rep fatigue clearly set in. It wasn't noticeable physically but I noticed that I wasn't running on pace despite similar effort to the first two reps. I managed to speed up to keep it close 3 quarters to the end but I just didn't have anything at the end and finished at 5:17.

I did my best to stretch and keep loose for the fourth rep. I knew that I probably didn't have a good chance at hitting my mark but I thought maybe I could hit 5:17 again. So I started the last rep. Boy was it very clear that I didn't have anything in the tank. Breathing-wise I wasn't having any difficulties. But my legs lost a lot of their power and were not carrying me as far per stride as they were previously. I realized that this rep was hopeless a quarter of the way in but it is very hard for me to give up what I start. So I just kept plugging away making sure I wasn't over straining to the point of injury. I finished at 5:24.

It's pretty clear to me that I wasn't physically up to the task of speed work today. Maybe if I had done it tomorrow I would be in better shape physically to do it, or maybe not. Right now as I type I definitely still feel a little weak but I think I'm on my way to getting over this bug. Here are the splits:

4x1 mile @ 5:05-5:11 with 3 minutes recovery

Mile 15:10
Mile 25:11
Mile 35:17
Mile 45:24

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Grasshopper. Many people in Houston believe they have the flu (or flu like symptoms) when what they are REALLY fighting are allergies. I use to get sick almost every spring, but haven't been sick in maybe five years now - not even the common cold. FWIW the steps I take that seem to work:
1) Do not sleep with the windows open - it allows all that pollen and crud into the home for you to breath.
2) Wash the pillow cases and sheets every weekend.
3) At the first sign of a sore throat I start gargling frequently with either mouth wash or warm salt water to kill any gunk that may be trying to colonize.

Bill Blancett said...

Oh wise one,

Thanks for the sage advice. #3 definitely sparked my interest. Although I've heard people add baking soda along with the salt.

Bill