6/28/11

Track Tuesday: 100s and 200s

Warm up: 1 mile

7 x 100s (walked 100 recovery in between)
22:79
24:12
21:38
21:52
20:48
22:15
19:79

4 x 200 (walked 100 recovery in between)
50:79
51:75
53:48
51:72

Cooled down: walked 800


Felt OK, but wore the wrong shorts and my lower legs are still hurting a lot from the cleats. Legs felt out of control on the 100s, which is why I switched to 200s.
Need to get in a long run this week...in my new shoes!

Track Tuesday

Roman and Erin and I made it to track tonight. It was nice to run in not crazy hot weather.

I warmed up with Roman for a mile. We swapped stories of my frustrating work day and his awful run on Saturday concluding in barfing. I've never thrown up from running. Been very dizzy and blacked out once at the end of a race, which caused ice cold water to be thrown on me. That wasn't pleasant, but I think I'd take that over getting sick. Sounds like he just had a weird combo of heat exhaustion and not the right food.

Anyway, I realized my Garmin's batteries weren't charged. Hmmm. I noticed that it wasn't on the charger completely when I grabbed it to throw in my bag. I must have not clicked it in all the way last time I connected it. I went to get my phone out of my car but realized it too was nearly out of juice, so it wouldn't probably make it many laps before dying. So, that left me without a timing device and I just ran for effort.

I ran 8 x 200, with 100 walk rests in between. I felt pretty good and pushed on the last one. My knee is still a little tweaky from testing out the soccer cleats Sunday, and my shins hurt as well. But other than that, I don't think I hurt my knee too bad Sunday. Tomorrow I'm taking my running shoes along to Ultimate in case I need to switch out from the cleats.

So that's it: 8 x 200. It felt pretty good.

Track Night - Changed Venue

1 mile warm-up
4 x 800: 4:07, 4:17, 4:17 and 4:20
No cool-down. Left. Quickly.

We tried a different track tonight: Sycamore Jr. High. Here are my ratings (out of 5 stars being the best)

Track surface: *** 3 stars. It was old school and just fine. Made us all go into conversation about what our high school tracks were like.
Track location: ***** 5 stars. Easier for Greg and Roman (and Shaun when he comes) to get to. We might be able to start earlier, which would be nice.
Track markings: ***** 5 stars. They must have just painted them again. I don't really care about this, but thought the bright, fresh paint was worth mentioning ;)
Track etiquette: * 1 star. There was zero track etiquette. It was completely overrun by a bunch of rude people that thought they owned the track for their group workout. Very very annoying.
Harper's Point BW3's: *** 3 stars. It is part of track night! They didn't split the wing sauce allotment to the satisfaction of anyone who was getting wings. Personally, I'm a little winged out right now and ordered some gross flatbread thing. Bleh. Everyone agreed that the Tylersville BW3's is better.
Company: ***** 5 stars. (As usual.) The more the merrier, so I'm glad Christen did some recruiting for this week :)

So that was track night at a different venue. Stay tuned to see what happens next week... Will Roman throw a sharp elbow at the crabby woman in purple? Will Erin say excuse me or bite me after tripping the women who cut her off just to slow down in front of her? Will Steph scream TRACK! at the top of her lungs at the 4-abreast walkers taking up lanes 1 - 4??? Find out next Tuesday evening on... TRACK TALES!!!

Track Night in the Heat

All were in attendance tonight. :)  Our little track club is so fun. We need a name. And we all need nicknames. I've decided this.

Christen (aka ABP) and Shaun (aka ultra-Shaun)

Roman (aka Boom Shakalaka) and Greg (aka Runs With Like Kenyans)

OK so maybe we don't need nicknames.

We warmed up a mile and then, as people were trying to decide what to do in the heat, Shaun and I were talking about doing what I know as "Indian Runs" - or something like that. I didn't do track in school, but ask a track person and they will know what I'm talking about. You all run in a single file line. The person in the back sprints up to the front and sets a new pace. As soon as they are at the front, the new person in the back does the same...and so on and so on.  I've done these workouts when I trained with a group at Fleet Feet. We went round and round a neighborhood doing this for a few miles. It was TONS of fun. Tonight, it was TONS of hard.

Here you have Roman, who is super fast. Greg and Shaun who are fast. Christen and I who are, uh, not fast. Christen just started running again, so she's just getting her body used to things again and will soon be fast. And I am just plain slow. Guess who suffered? 

The order, I think, was Christen, me, Shaun, Roman, and Greg. The pace line would get so spread out when the guys were leading and before I'd have to sprint that I probably had to travel double as far to get to the front. Meanwhile the speedy guys bounded to the front, under my recovery pace, with ease. The pace they set was not an easy pace for just running- so basically the only chance I got to recover was when I lead the pack...for a bout 5 seconds! We did this for a mile. It was a brutal workout for me and Christen, but a really good and fun one too! I definitely think Christen and I benefited more from the workout than the guys did. 

After that Christen, Shaun and I ran some more laps to cool down while Greg and Roman did another couple of miles. Now we have two fun change-ups to track night when we feel like it: Stadium stairs and whatever it is we did tonight...I'll call it Line Sprints?

Track and Four Miles

Tuesday was track night. We hadn't been in a couple of weeks and I was anxious to go back and feel speedy.

When we got there, the skies opened up and huge yet soft drops started pelting us. We ducked into the tunnel under the stands while the downpour happened, which was maybe for 1 minute. Then we went back out and it was just humid and sticky.

What looked to be the entire lot of boys who'd like to play football for Mason was out in the field and swarming the track. It was junior high and high school boys, and probably early practice before try-outs. It was a chaotic mess of black and green shirts and skins out on the field. There were different groups scattered on different parts of the field doing drills. They were loud and happy and pretty funny to watch, really. Most of the times, the drills were pushing the edges of the field. We had to be on the lookout for balls overthrown onto the track and the pack of stinky boys chasing after it. It made for an interesting time!

I warmed up 1 mile, then did 400 repeats, walking 200s in between. Times:
1:53
1:49
1:51
1:51

Then I cooled down a mile. It felt pretty good. I don't think I could have done more than 4 repeats without slowing down.

This morning I ran 4 miles with Casey and it was a little rough. The air was so thick. My legs were lead-filled for about a mile and half then were fine. But the air never un-thickened. I haven't been sleeping well this week and that is how I felt.

Saturday a few of us are doing a 5K in Mason- Asha for Education. It starts in the park and goes through there and looks like the path along the road by the map. It won't be flat, but it won't be Idlewild either. I'm really really looking forward to a decent 5K time...like maybe the same time as what the Tri for Joe time was, which now is feeling more and more like it was some kind of fluke. We'll see I guess.

Track Tuesday - Stairs!

Something I haven't done since college: run stadium stairs.

Greg, Roman and I warmed up on the track for about a mile. Then, Greg suggested we do the stairs. It was kind of mentioned last week as something we should try some time. It was a nice change from running around and around and around - and especially since I still don't have a sport watch yet.

Going up...

Coming down...

We did each staircase on the concrete side twice. Took us about 14 minutes. Then we ran another lap, and Greg pooped out on doing any more. Overall it was short workout, but I think I'm beginning to feel it in my calves...

Track and Longest Run Thus Far

This week is crazy, and it's ending with the most craziness. But I need a break, so here I am writing.

Tuesday was track night. It was windy!

Here's the flag to prove it.























I got there first, as usual, waiting on the southern working commuters :)  I went to the bathroom to change. I must say, I felt like I could eat off of that bathroom's floor. It was sparkling! Here's a picture of me giving my thumbs up approval.

Greg and Roman finally arrived and I snapped a picture of us. Numerous ones, actually, but this one was the least head-chopping one.

I had warmed up a mile before they got there. Then I did a bunch of 100s all within 21 - 23 seconds. I only had my phone to use as a stopwatch because I forgot my watch, so that was kind of annoying. After doing maybe 4 or 6 100s, I met up with Greg and Roman again and asked what they were doing...and suggested ladders for them. :)  So they did 100, 200, 300, 400 and then back down. Not sure if they repeated 400 twice. Meanwhile I did a step-stool, lol. I did another 100, then 200, 200, and finished with 100. I was spent after that last 100. The wind and excessive amount of children to avoid while out there took it out of me. I jogged, catching up with Roman and Greg as they finished their sets.

Next week we need to figure out what lane is going to not have waste-high kids flailing around in it. I'm really worried I'm going to plow one of them over and that would not be pretty.

Wednesday morning I ran 4 miles with Casey and it was great! That is the farthest I've ran since my IT band injury, so I'm soooo happy! And it was the morning after track! I can't wait to start ramping up the distance.

In other news, my new bike clothes arrived! I've tried them all on and everything fits except the Grateful Dead tank and the bike shorts. So I think I'll send them back and get sizes up.

Today I'm taking a day off. We had kickball last night and from sprinting to the bases a couple of times I kind of tweaked my quad. I'll see what I'll do tomorrow - maybe a run maybe a bike ride.

The Air and Track Night

Blog readers, meet Puffs Plus. Puffs Plus, meet blog readers:

I've always had bad, year-round allergies. But really, it's not a horrendous suffering. There are far worse things to suffer in life. Don't let the whiney seasonal allergy sufferers kid you ;)  However, it certainly can be annoying. And it does effect the days. I get tired and worn out a little more from them, depending on what the allergen is. Right now it's the damn trees getting their leaf action on. The driveway is turning yellow. My car is turning green (yellow + blue make green! - thanks ziploc!)  I brush the dogs off before they come inside. And today I gave my lungs a great workout in this lovely pollen-filled air.

Roman and I met at the track, and there was no meet (we have found a full schedule online now!) We warmed up for about a mile. Then I did 10 x 100 repeats with 100 walk recovery. The second to last one was rough. The last one was pretty rough too, but for some reason the second to last was worse. Then we jogged 800 as a cool down, which wasn't working as a cool down for me. So we walked 800 after that and that worked.

Stretching beforehand. Tiny ponytail.

A shoe's-eye view of the fake turf.

While we were there, the kids from a Catholic church in Mason popped up again. But this time I think it was their entire 2nd and 3rd grades or something. They totally took over, but it was funny. Some of them did 4 x 100 relays. We were cooling down at this point, so we just made sure to stay in lanes 7 and 8 as they ran past. One girl was running with her baton and decided she didn't want to carry it anymore, so she stuck it down the front of her shirt! There was quite a hoard of them, all doing different activities around the track and football field.

This isn't even a third of them.

Overall, it was a good workout. I was steady. I'm not so sure about this "sprinting" thing. I hope it will help in making me stronger. It's just hard - Roman's 800 repeat pace was my 100 repeat pace. But I have to start somewhere.

Track Tuesday.

I am fueled with pasta and water for what I hope to be a very good workout this evening.

I walked into downtown for some lunch at the Works. It was good - Vegetarian Wearing a Bowtie is the pasta dish I ate. I downed two glasses of water and tried to surf some unreliable interwebs connection before heading back to the lonely studio. If the interwebs had been working, I could have stayed there all afternoon and worked. They were blaring a great Sirius channel and had the garage door open, so there was plenty of fresh (pollen-filled) air.

It is a gorgeous day. The empty planter boxes along the bridge across the river reminded me that this is a very nice early spring we're having - it's not even May!

This is a piece of the park that I have a partial view of from my studio window. It suddenly is very much in bloom.

The bits of pollen-carriers cast off from the trees fell in nice randomness on this bench.

Tonight I think I will do 100s again. I did 8 last time, so maybe this time I'll see about 10. And see about making them all 22 seconds. There isn't such a strong wind this week- yay!

Tuesday Track Night - hot and windy

Hurray for our first successful track night! The school is on spring break so there wasn't a track meet! Plus I've found a hotline now that is updated daily with sports going-ons. Hopefully track is included and I can hear if there is a meet or not. We'll see next week I guess.

I warmed up with a mile. Roman joined me half way through, then Greg arrived. It was so windy. The first straight felt like someone was pushing you along. Then as you rounded the curve, the cross-wind pushed you to the far edge of the lane. And then you had to battle into the wind on the back stretch. Fun!

We all did the same workout, though Greg and Roman were off together in speedy-land running theirs. 8 x 100 with 100 rest intervals. I walked those. I felt strong and fresh for each 100. Never slowed down through the course of all 8, so that's good. The time was somewhere between 22- 23 seconds for each, which is slow, so that's a nice benchmark to start the season. I cooled down with another 1 mile jog around the track, but I never really felt like I recovered. My breathing never was under control. It could be because of my allergies I suppose.

Overall, it was a good workout, and I'm glad we're underway with our group track session. Now to figure out how to get more people to come...

Track Night Tonight

I didn't get to bike this past weekend as I had hoped. But then I didn't get to go on the Monday night ride either. I need to bike in between going 34+ miles!

Friday I ran back to the street that everyone test drives their cars on (it's near the dealerships). It's a nice relatively flat stretch of road lined with hotels and offices. I thought it would make a nice environment for some impromptu speedwork. It was about 8 minutes to jog over to the spot. I was carrying water, which was very annoying. I forgot how much I hate that. Then I ran for about a minute fast-ish. It definitely wasn't a sprint, but was faster than 5K pace for sure. Then I walked. I did this 6 times. I was tired. I don't know if it was the heat or just being Friday, but 6 was all I felt like doing.

Saturday I worked. Sunday was Easter. I did manage to run around in the back yard playing various tag games with the hubby's family. Freeze tag - when's the last time you've played it!?

Monday I had to meet Greg at the Apple store for him to get his new phone, so I didn't do the 5:30 bike ride. I was planning to go home and set the bike up on the back porch and ride for a while, but by the time I got home from the grocery store – actually while I was getting home from the grocery store – a good thunderstorm rolled in. So I watched a movie instead, with intermittent power outages and one spectacular lightning show. I suppose the actual ride would have been pretty miserable and interrupted by the storm.

Tonight is track night... I've called the school and listened to a hotline and there supposedly isn't a track meet tonight. Then I also noticed the school is on spring break this week, so we should have no problems!! Now I just need some good energy lunch...

Weather. It's Nice.

This week has been sooooooo great weather-wise. And I also have been pretty happy with my consistency in exercising.

Monday was the epic bike ride, longest ever and beginnings of a new realm of cycling.
Tuesday we tried to have our first track night of the season, but it was converted into a 3 mile run in the park thanks to a track meet.
Wednesday I was very tired. Not sore, but just worn out. So a rest day.
Thursday I ran with Krista after work... ended up being a 45 minute chunk of activity, but we didn't run the entire time because we were both so tired. It was also very warm!
Today. Is. Gorgeous. I'm getting out to do something, be it a run or hopefully squeezing in a bike ride. I'm leaning more towards run because I'll have plenty of time to go on a bike ride tomorrow. Today I'm busy with work and the yard also needs mowed!!

So this is definitely more like it! :)

Track Night

First day of fall and the King's Collision Center temperature clock read 87º! And it was muggy, also. At least there was a water bottle waiting for me after each lap at the track if I wanted. It threatened to rain on us the entire time, and there was a short set of sprinkles that felt good.

Cool cloud off in the distance.

















Krista joined me this time for my Yasso 800's. I really do think it's greatly helping me to be able to push in the longer distances. Maybe through the winter I'll try something else, shorter and faster, to try to get my speed and leg turnover up.

We warmed up 1200. Then she and I did 4 x 800. Krista then headed off to the stadium stairs and did those (yikes! I haven't done that since college!). I continued on running 3 more 800s. The last one was hard. I felt it in my legs. But I never slowed down, which I'm happy about. I probably could have gone one more, though it was getting really hard to breathe. More than my legs, the breathing thing is what holds me back I think.

Anyway, our splits were mostly around 4:20. Last few were 4:18, so I'm happy about that. I know that is horrendously slow, but whatever.

Greg and Roman were there too. Here is Greg demonstrating to Roman how he can make his hand flutter really fast, er... something.

















I wore my marathon shoes. Broke them in nicely I think. Maybe another long run in them and then I'll put them in the closet until race day!

Tuesday Track Time

Greg and I went to the track again tonight, like we did last Thursday. We met our friend Roman there, and he and Greg (aka the speedsters) ran some 400's while I slowly did mile repeats.

I warmed up for 1 mile. Then I did 2 miles at 9:00 pace each, resting in between. During the second one I was soooo tired. I had planned to do a third 9:00 but decided not to. I ran one more mile kind of slowly to cool down.

It sucks being slow, but I have to start somewhere. It is really fun to go to the track with people though! We hope to do it again next week. I'd like to continue doing it weekly, during the marathon training and beyond.

Miles at the Track

Tonight I felt like switching it up and going to the track. It's been a loooong time since I've been to a track to run any kind of workout. I wasn't planning on doing anything too hard and thought I'd maybe just do a few miles there. I convinced Greg to go with me. It was very fun!

Greg running.

















After briefly talking to Greg about what my ideas of repeats on a track are (from things I've read over the years and my own experience working with Fleet Feet's training programs), he decided he was going to do some 400's. I decided I was going to do mile repeats. That is good distance to repeat for marathon training, plus I wanted to work on my pace and form. I brought the camera along and had Greg take a few pictures of me so I could see what I look like while running. I have a tendency to bring my arms up kind of high as well as my shoulders. Start looking like a t-rex.

















I warmed up 1 mile at a 10:00 pace. Then my plan was to do 3 miles at 9:30, and another cool down mile. The first mile I did was 9:00 – a bit faster than I planned. The second mile I nailed the pace at 9:30. I decided that was enough, since I'm planning to run 16 miles this weekend. So I ran one more cool down mile at 10:15 pace for a total of 4 miles.

Look pretty normal...























Look out small dinosaurs... here comes T-rex...raaaarrwww!





















The track is so nice – soft and smooth. There was always a breeze at some point, even though it was 89º when we went. Greg did awesome, running various distances repeatedly. I think he's going to be sore. His cool down is faster than my mile repeat. Yeah. I'm pokey.

After we ran, we took our shoes off and ran a couple of yards on the fake turf football field barefoot. It is squishy and felt great. I could feel the different muscles being used around my ankles.
Greg stretching.

















So we are planning to try to go to the track on Tuesdays now. This will give me more time between possibly having a hard workout and running a long run on the weekend. It's fun that we can run together, even while we're clearly such different paces. I think I'll stick with mile repeats for the duration of the marathon training. I'll keep working on my form and staying strong when tired.