Friday, April 25, 2014

Quarter-Mile Repeats

I would say that last night was a successful interval run!

Let's backtrack: I finally went back to pilates on Tuesday and then I got a sports massage on Wednesday, so Thursday, I was still a little sore. But I like doing quarter-mile repeats. I decided to try the workout I had set up on my watch with the intention of doing it post-pilates on Tuesday (rain convinced me to run before NoBo instead).

The plan: 1-mile warmup, .25 hard followed by .10 walk, repeat 12 times, 1-mile cooldown. I also set pace alerts for the quarter-mile intervals. I think they were between 7:45 and 8:15. Spoiler: I only triggered the alert once, and that was because I was going too fast!

Long story short: I completed all 12 repeats, got quicker on the second half, didn't have any interval pace start with an 8, and my last interval was 7:01. I ended up with 6.2 miles in just under 60 minutes.

Lesson: I should update my pace alerts. I shouldn't be over 8 for any quarter-mile repeat. And I should lower the bottom end because it was annoying being alerted. I'll probably change it to 6:30 to 7:59 for my next set.

Other thoughts: I know that these short intervals are not the best speedwork when distance running in your intention. However, I like this workout, so I'm going to keep doing it periodically. I'll try to mix in more tempo runs and mile-repeat workouts, but this is a satisfying workout.

I should do some research on paces for this workoutl Okay, I found this quote from Hal Higdon on the TrainingPeaks.com website:

"Interval training is probably the most effective way to fine-tune your speed and maximize performance. But it has to be done right, and there are at least five variables that you can play with. I spend a full chapter in Run Fast discussing this subject. But in terms of effort, you should not be lying down in the infield gasping for breath after finishing an interval workout. You should go into the last rep with enough energy left so you can make that rep the fastest of those you did and still be able to cool down afterwards."

I'm going to stop now because that makes it seem like my workout last night was done pretty much correctly.

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