Every Tuesday, I meet my Fleet Feet Speed Session group on the track. I love this group because it’s another excuse to run with friends! And…just in one year of track workouts, I’ve seen some good improvements.
The brighter the colors the faster I can run, right??
Here’s today’s workout:
4 mile warmup/ drills
9×800’s w/ 400m recovery jog
Cool down
My goal time was 3:26. My actual splits were: 3:29, 3:28, 3:26, 3:26, 3:25, 3:26, 3:25, 3:25, 3:16 (I obviously like to give it my all on the last one!!)
800 repeats are always a tough workout. My friend Corrie calls it the devil’s distance! Because this workout can be overwhelming, it’s important to break it up by 100’s. I always take a post-it with my splits to the track. How do you eat an elephant…one bite at a time. I just happened to wear my favorite elephant earrings (I’m a dork)!
Followed by an ice bath…they seriously help my recovery.
Do you do regular speed workouts…track, tempo? What works best for you?
I like the Elephant earrings and ‘eating an elephant’. That is a good analogy.
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It really helps me to break up the workout into manageable pieces. And…one of my sweetest friends gave me the earrings so they always make me happy:)
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J
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I am really enjoying your blog!!
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Jennifer!! I LOVE the new blog! Congrats! Great workout today; I’m feeling very lazy, especially after my race Saturday. How do you determine which type of track workout to do each week? Great post!
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You earned some rest time!! I run with a Fleet Feet track group, so they provide the weekly workout and coaching. They individualize the paces, so it takes out all of the guess work.
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I cannot wait to start incorporating speed workouts into my routine again! I’m building up from an injury so in time I will hit the track again! Nice job!
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I hope you have a speedy recovery, and thank you!!!
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Awesome run Jen! I love that you left it all out there on the last 800. I haven’t done speedwork in so long but my marathon plan calls for Fartlek tomorrow so I have 15 x 1:00 minute fast with 1:00 recovery between. Should be interesting since it’s been so long!
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Thank you!! love doing speed work in the middle of a run like that. I’m sure you’ll crush it!!
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Jen- Ive been wondering if ice baths may help me with my daily soreness and recovery. Do you get in the bath immediately after your run? and how much ice do you put in the tub? and how long do you stay in? Im a little hesitant because a big pet peeve of mine is goosebumps ruining a fresh shave (haha) however Im interested in how to set it up at home.
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Ice baths have really helped me recover quickly. I take it as soon as I get home. I have a large ice maker so I just fill the tub with cold water (enough to cover my legs) and add the ice. I stay in for 15 minutes. Some runners pick up a bag or two of ice on their way home if they don’t have an ice maker. It’s definitely trial and error to find what works best for you, though.
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