February 19th, 2008

4 x 1200m @ 4:00 w/ 4min rest

4x1200 @ 4:00 w/ 4min rest. Goal of this workout to run as if it was the easiest most relaxed 4min 1200 I have ever run....so nothing incredibly fast, but smooth.

Ran this after work (10-6) and went up to MHS to do this. I was excited as it was the first time in a looooong time that the flags down in the valley by work were NOT moving AT ALL!!! Holy crap, something had to be wrong with the weather - no wind?!?! Even though it was dark, I was definitely taking advantage of this break in the wind. Ran 1 mile warmup, stretched and did drills, then got to work. Tim wants me to dress warmly this week so I opted to try this workout all bundled up - I normally would not do something quick in a hooded sweatshirt, several layers and long pants....just doesn't feel right running anything faster than a jog pace like that...oh well. I was nice and toasty at least! :)

Tim didn't want me to look at splits, rather just run and let the legs figure out the pace - "feel" it if you will, so I had the watch on for the final split, just didn't glance at it for each 400 so I was running blind. I thought I was running around 80ish for the first one, I was wrong - 4:07 was the first 1200 and it felt slow.

The last 3 were better as I focused more on rhythm, and when I hit the 2nd lap to make sure I increased my rhythm just a tad as I figured I was probably relaxing a bit there - 3:53 / 3:52 / 3:54 were the final 3 splits, so it worked and each one felt like it was slower than that.

Much better workout than Sunday! Didn't feel as perfect as I think I should have, but obviously if I can run those times all bundled up the way I was, then running in shorts and singlet will be much faster easily. Ran 1 mi cool down and then got in the ice bath. Pasta dinner from Noodle Company and a movie! :)