That was a crazy fartlek workout
My legs were fried
But someday I'll be back again
Even though I kind of wanted to die...
[To the tune of OAR's Crazy Game of Poker hehe]
Haha ok, I hope you enjoyed my awesome song. The crazy fartlek workout I'm talking about is 10 miles, with 30 seconds at around 5K pace every 3 minutes. I spent a lot of time going back and forth on the workout over whether it was going to be hard, or not so bad, or just long, or what. I was planning on doing it on my way to work [such a huge time saver] and leaving around 3:15. Then I get this phone call around 2:
Co-worker: "Hi, can you come in a little early? My knees are killing me, I think I'm going to go to the doctor"
Me: "Ummm...sure...how early?"
Co-worker: "Well, whenever you can get here would be good"
Me: "OK...um...well...I need to run 10 miles today, and I was planning on doing it on my way to work...so I can leave in a few minutes, instead of when I would usually leave, and I think I'll get there around 4?" [my normal shift started at 5]
Co-worker: "You are insane. Do you know how cold it is outside?"
Me: "Yeah...."
Co-worker: "Wow. OK yeah, just get here whenever you can"
Clearly, we know where my priorities lie...:) Because I didn't want to look at my watch every 3 minutes [talk about making a workout go by sloooooow], I made a playlist of ~3 minute songs, and then just did the 30 second interval at the start of each song. It was actually really nice, and I grabbed some music I hadn't listened to in awhile which made things extra fun. At the start I felt OK - the 5K pace stuff felt kind of hard, and the easy parts felt really easy. Strangely, the further I got into the run, the more I enjoyed the 30 second bursts and the more unpleasant the 2:30 in between them became - weird, right? So it was definitely by no means an easy workout, and it didn't help that I ran it on a pretty hilly route. But honestly, I really liked it! Having to speed up every 3 minutes really kept me focused and involved in the run, as opposed to just kind of cruising, and it really kept things interesting. Was it hard? YES - 10 miles is no joke, especially when you add speedwork into it for the entire distance, and by the end my quads were begging for mercy. But overall I felt really strong, and ended up with a 7:33 pace overall, which I'm pretty sure is the fastest pace I've ever logged over 10 miles...so that was pretty cool, and I guess means I didn't slow down to a snail's pace on the recovery/easy parts, which is good! So thanks Brad Hudson, for yet another interesting workout that I never would have come up with on my own, but ended up enjoying!
Some favorite tracks from yesterday's workout mix:
To the Beat of Our Noisy Hearts - Matt Nathanson
I LOVE Matt Nathanson, and this was a song that somehow got lost in my mess of an iTunes library...I adore it and find it to be a perfect running anthem.
Stand Out - Powerline
Uh...it's from A Goofy Movie. Pretty much enough said. LOL.
Night - Bruce Springsteen
I was taught to love The Boss at a young age because my dad is a HUGE fan...there were a lot of bands that he tried to get me to like/appreciate as a kid, and Bruce was one of the couple that actually stuck. [The Who being another] But Bruce Springsteen...damn. I got to see him in concert a couple years ago and it was just straight up incredible..I can only imagine what the man was like in his younger days. Born To Run is probably one of my favorite albums of all time, and this was a song I didn't really appreciate until recently. But I love it now!
Well, other than that, the Super Sunday 10K is tomorrow and I'm actually getting quite nervous. I haven't race in what feels like FOREVER...usually by this point in the school year, I would have 10-15 races under my belt and a road race would be just a diversion between track meets. But now road races ARE my track meets, and I really would like to actually throw down a good time tomorrow. Based on my 5K track PR, the McMillan calculator predicts me at a 41:20 10K...annnd also a 3:14 marathon, HAH! Putting in my marathon time gives me a 46:43, which wouldn't even be a PR, so I would NOT be satisfied with that, especially given how I've been running lately. Putting in the 6:10 mile I ran in a workout gives me 44:23 - and also matches up with the 5K time I would imagine I could run right now [21:22]. Ding ding ding! We have a winner. Obviously my #1 MO is to simply PR - that is, beat 46:30. I think I'll cry if I can't do that. But I think I will put my 'A' goal as being 44:30. Probably unrealistic, but hey, you never know until you try, right?
I'm also geeking out about what I'm going to wear!! I really don't want to race in one of my bulkier winter running tops, but I also don't want to freeze my ass off. I think I'm going to test out my lightest possible race outfit on my run today, and if it checks out I'll go with it for tomorrow. I am nervous though - I really want to run well, I feel like I have something to prove to myself that I haven't lost my racing edge, that I can still compete, and that I can push through the pain and run a good race. Guess we'll find out at 10 am tomorrow...at least the Harpoon beer and Legal clam chowder at the end will hopefully drive me to a faster finish time. :)
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