Just a quick entry, while I wait for my experiment to finish.
Since I have been slightly off with my marathon (now half-marathon) training, I realize that I have been neglecting the speed work what is necessary for a long-distance training program. Ack!!! Now, there is less than 25 days and 10 hours until my race in Montreal.
Yesterday, I decided to do three "speed" ladder intervals - 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 800m, 400m, 200m, 100m, 100m, 200m, 400m, and 800m with minimal recovery in between intervals. I remember hating this type of workout back in high school but I did notice that my times improved with it. With 25 days until the race, there will not be enough time to notice any differences from my speed work, but it will prepare my legs for quick sprinting that I will have do during the half-marathon. Overall, the run was kind of fun, because it was a nice change to breaking up the distances. I think that it gives your mind a chance to rest and regroup, which you do not really get an opportunity to do when running 10+ miles. Speaking of minds. I must have had early Monday morning brain because I screwed up the calculations for the first two intervals. As I showed above, the distances are in meters; whereas, my GPS tracker measure distance in miles. With my brain fart, I was equating 100 and 200 meters with 0.1 and 0.2 miles, respectively. This is crazy because:
- I have been involved with track and field for years, so I should know these distances quite well.
- I am a scientist who deals with using the metric system on a daily basis. I still do not understand why the U.S. does not use the metric system, but that subject is the topic of a different blog for a different day.
The route in Saratoga Park in the Bed Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Even though I messed up a bit with my conversations, it worked out a little bit because I ran an extra distance that I had originally planned to do. What does not kill you will make you stronger, right?
All in all it was a fun run, because the park, with its oval walkway, near my apartment building is perfect for these types of runs.
Song of the run: Shakira's "Ciega, Sordomuda."
Although much of Shakira's style has changed, call it an artist's evolution, this song still is one of my favorites for getting some speed out of my legs.
Ok, so moving forward in the week. I plan to do a 7-8 mile (depending on what time I wake up and how hot it is outside) tempo run. I am going to aim for an 8:10 - 8:30 min/mi pace. Plus, I plan to do my last long run (a 12 miler) this weekend, so I can get an adequate tapering period. I have not given much thought to the route but I think that it will include the Williamsburg Bridge, downtown, and the Westside Highway in Manhattan. I do not believe that I have done any runs on the Westside of Manhattan.