Getting Into Some Serious Training

I did my last long run (22 miles or so) before the OKC Memorial Marathon on April 11. Some would say that is serious training. But, no, that is just base building. Now the serious training begins. I decided to not sign up for the marathon, and instead I think I will try to improve at the 5k distance.

Two days after the long run I did a hilly tempo run, four miles at 7:45 pace. I felt pretty good about that because my legs were still a little tired from the long run. Tuesday and Wednesday were easy runs. Then on Thursday I ran to Owen Park and then did hill repeats up Easton. These were moderate efforts of about two minutes up followed by a jog down, and then repeat.

On Monday I jogged from downtown to 15th & Riverside, and then I did sprints up Galveston hill. These were not just moderate runs up the hill, they were all out efforts for 10-12 seconds up the hill. Then I walked down the hill and stood around and ran it again. Total of 6 repeats. It didn't seem so hard, but the next day it felt like I had raced a marathon or two. I was soooo sore!

Tuesday I went for an "easy" run. I felt really tight for about the first two miles, and it felt like I was going incredibly slow. Then things started to loosen up and I did the last couple of miles at a brisk pace. Avg pace for the whole run was about 8:40 per mile, so I must have finished at close to an 8 minute pace.

Wednesday and Thursday noon runs were both at an easy pace. On Thursday I also stopped during the run at Veteran's Park and did push ups and pull ups.

Thursday evening I did a set of 800 meter repeats. Times were 2:51, 3:15, 3:10, and 3:20, with 2 to 2:30 rest between repeats. I had intended on doing six at 3:20 each, but I started out way too fast and couldn't seem to settle into the right pace. My legs were tired even before I started, and I think I was trying so hard to make the time that I overcompensated and ran too fast. Anyway, by the time I had run three, I decided to cut the workout short and just do one more repeat. Finally I hit my target time on the last one. The point of these workouts is to go a little faster than 5k target pace. Next week I will try to get in 6 repeats right at 3:20 and will shorten the recovery times. Hopefully, if all goes well, by the end of May I will be able to get pretty close to a 21 minute 5k.