Thursday, January 31, 2008

Gone in 60 seconds

The good news is that my car is still here.*

Tonight's workout is the second in what I have learned is a John Hill speed build.  We did 10 x 400m last week on shorter rest and this week was 5 x 400m on longer (read: full) rest.  Next week is all out 200s, and then we build back up with 300s, 400s, and 600s over the next three weeks.  Anecdotal evidence from Paul and Simon says that this speed build will pay huge dividends, giving the runner another gear after we are done.  I have heard ridiculous things, like we will be running 10 seconds faster per kilometer, but I don't know about that.  I can see it making a difference though as my stride becomes smoother and longer. 

The rain throughout the day had melted most of the snow on the track, save for a little slush around the 150m mark.  The rain was falling lightly this evening and the temperature was about 3 degrees.  While the description of the evening is not pretty, it was actually quite a good night for running.  Jay and Paul and Chris were out tonight (no Simon - he's a slacker!) and we got off to a good start, running a 62 for the first 400m.     

I hadn't felt great this week - both head and body have been in a bit of funk the past few days, but I started feeling good after the first 400.  We settled into the second 400 with Paul leading us out, kicking up slush in my face, but cutting the wind for me as well.  We rounded the track and I felt good, hanging in for a solid 61.

The next three went better.  I took a pull on the third 400 and lead out the fourth and fifth, going 61, 60, 59 respectively.  I haven't gone sub 60 on the track in about 5 years, so this was great to see, especially at this time of the year.  I cooled down with Jay, doing some drills and chatting about our days as young tracksters, but I wanted to hurry home to eat dinner and watch the premiere of LOST.   Like the workout, it did not disappoint.

Workout:
5 x 400 on full recovery (5:00-6:00)
62
61
61
60
59




*Gone In 60 Seconds is the name of a Nicholas Cage movie which features a gang of guys who steal cars in 60 seconds.

2 comments:

Michael said...

Nice w/o, well done! 10" a km? I'm curious, how does this translate given all your longer races this year?

Unknown said...

I know - 10" seems a lot, but I am going off what I have been told. I think that may be the high end and the relative change would be less the faster one is, but either way, a 3" would be awesome.

I am not sure how this will work for Knee Knacker, but I am sure it will help with Boston and the ENDURrun is essentially a lot of shorter races one after another, so it should help there as well.

I am curious to watch the change. It is fun being a guinea pig.