Track # 1

I took advantage of the warm beautiful weather this morning and headed over to the Chestnut Hill Academy track for a workout. A nice 1/4 mile rubber track very similar to the one at Roxborough High school that I used to run. The only big difference is that it isn't lit but in a month or so the sun will take care of that problem, at least for 6 months or so.

I am no pro on the track so I wasn't exactly sure what to do. I figured longer repeats this early in the year would be better than the shorter sharpening workouts called for as you approach a target race. (Or so I have read on a number of running websites I peruse). I settled on a challenging 5 x 1 mile workout. My goal was to keep each mile under 6 minutes. if they were all 5:59 I'd be happy.

There were a few walkers and joggers on the track but nobody running intervals. I was glad to see everybody staying away from the inside lane. Here's how things went down.

Mile 1 - 5:50. Woah, this was going to be a breeze.
400 recovery in 1:58
Mile 2 - 5:56. Okay so maybe this wasn't going to be as easy as I thought.
600 recovery in 2:53
Mile 3 - 5:56. Now I was working and wondering if I was going to be able to pull off 2 more.
600 recover in 3:45 (I stopped to retire and stretch for a few)
Mile 4 - 5:58. Really pushing towards the end but I knew I could pull off one more.
800 recovery in 4:14
Mile 5 - 5:58. Done.

3 Mile cooldown for 11.5 miles in 83 minutes. I was very happy, a good workout and I felt recovered when I got home. I learned to take it a little slow on the first lap or two and save some for the last couple. It's better to start slightly slow rather than fade in the last lap.