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Effort based speed work

January 2, 2012 by Kristy 24 Comments

Boston training started off with a bang – mile repeats.  My nemesis.  I knew this was coming.  I’ve used the FIRST training plan for my last 2 marathons and I always start with mile repeats.  I was nervous.  I was worried.  I always think that I can’t do it.  Speed work makes me feel insecure and a little nutty.

On top of my nervousness, I checked the weather last night and saw 20mph winds.  Perfect.  I woke up a 4:30 this morning  and could hear the trashcans blowing around my street.  By 7:00 I was at the track (bonus – I guess the wind scared everyone away because I had the track to myself!).

My training plan called for 3×1-mile repeats at 7:02 pace.  The good news is that I only had to do 3 of them.  The bad news is that I had to do them fast.  Currently, 7:02 pace is pretty much all-out for me…considering I have yet to bang out a 21:xx 5K time.

I decided to do things a little different and NOT look at my Garmin during the repeats.  Effort-wise I knew what a 7:02 pace entailed:  I would be in the “no talk” zone and my breathing would be labored and quick.  I don’t need a Garmin to confirm that feeling!

1st repeat:  7:10
2nd repeat:  7:08
3rd repeat:  7:11

Overall, not too bad considering the wind!  They weren’t 7:02 pace but at least they were consistent.  Even though my legs felt tired on the last repeat I kept my effort level up (judged by my labored breathing).  I can 100% guarantee that if I went by my Garmin I would have (1) ran slower and (2) would not have been as consistent.

Another perk to ditching the Garmin during speed work?  I hate when it’s still dark and I have to constantly keep checking (and lighting up) my Garmin to see if I’m on track.  It’s such a waste of energy.

Day 1 done and I’m pretty damn pleased!

Off to enjoy my last day of vacation.  I’m not so pleased about that 🙁

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Boston Marathon, Garmin, mile repeats, speed work

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kara says

    January 2, 2012 at 9:08 am

    Wow, I think you were pretty close to 7:02! I have never in my life run a 7:02 mile, so I’m in awe 🙂

    Reply
    • Kristy says

      January 2, 2012 at 12:49 pm

      You can most definitely run a 7:02 mile. I’m certain of it!

      Reply
  2. Abby says

    January 2, 2012 at 9:54 am

    Nice work! I, too, started the 2012 training season yesterday with a set of intervals. After a month of easy off-season workouts, it felt good to push again!

    Reply
  3. Elizabeth says

    January 2, 2012 at 10:06 am

    So I’m not the only one who worries about speed work?!? I feel better. I plan to do my speed work at 7 min/miles too.

    Bwaaahahahahahahahaha! Count the laugh as ab work.

    Reply
  4. RAS says

    January 2, 2012 at 11:41 am

    You really kicked it hard this morning! You will be well and ready for Boston. Hooray. I thought of you this morning on my run. I saw your update before hitting the pavement and every time the wind would come on hard, I said to myself, “What would Kristy do? She would run hard as hell and not let the wind push her down!”

    Happy New Year again.

    Reply
    • Kristy says

      January 2, 2012 at 12:51 pm

      Ha – WWKD?!?! The wind was brutal!

      Reply
  5. Kelly says

    January 2, 2012 at 2:24 pm

    nice work! I’d say day 1 is a success! Love starting a new training plan. Boo to this being the last day of vacation – it’s been fun!

    Reply
  6. Alyssa says

    January 2, 2012 at 2:30 pm

    WOW those were some fast miles! In my timed mile I did 7:18 and I could not imagine doing three of those! I guess being at the flat track might help, but still. Great work! Not staring at my Garmin is my new goal since it helped me PR in the marathon. It’s hard though, it always temps me! You are going to kill Boston 🙂

    Reply
  7. Beth @ RUNNING around my kitchen says

    January 2, 2012 at 2:35 pm

    Way to go! I switched to the FIRST plan in the middle of my last marathon training (I know, def not ideal to switch plans in the middle!) and the speed work always scared me 🙂 I find I get distracted if I look at my Garmin too much too, I like your approach!

    Reply
  8. AmandaRunsNY says

    January 2, 2012 at 4:59 pm

    Wow, great workout! So close to 7:02 time that honestly, maybe the wind was a factor! And either way, six seconds what I call race adrenaline! go girl!

    Reply
  9. runningseal says

    January 2, 2012 at 6:02 pm

    I like effort based. I don’t usually look at my watch during speedwork until after each interval. I usually end up being within “prescribed ranges.” Would I do better if I looked? I am actually not sure it would make much difference.

    So sad vacation is over 🙁

    Reply
  10. Terzah says

    January 2, 2012 at 6:57 pm

    Great job in the wind!! I have to do some mile repeats on Thursday, but not nearly that fast. And if it’s windy I may resort to the treadmill.

    Reply
  11. thethinksicanthink says

    January 2, 2012 at 7:00 pm

    fabulous workout! I can’t even get out of bed by 7:02 lately 🙂

    Reply
  12. vanessag says

    January 2, 2012 at 7:03 pm

    Great job girl!! I don’t really enjoy mile repeats either , but I do them cause they will make you faster. I remember in college we had to do 7…i thought I would die that day! Nope, I didn’t, I just race extra fast on my next race, hehe. Keep it up!

    Reply
  13. runninfromthelaw says

    January 2, 2012 at 7:08 pm

    Yipee! You’re off! So excited to watch your Boston training! Enjoy every second of it!!

    How come it’s snowing on your blog?? I thought I was going crazy looking at white things moving around on my screen!

    Reply
    • Kristy says

      January 2, 2012 at 7:11 pm

      WordPress is offering “snow” on my blog until Jan. 4!!! You’re not crazy!

      Sent from my iPad

      Reply
      • runninfromthelaw says

        January 2, 2012 at 7:57 pm

        funny! And why does the ping back from my blog show up so goofy in your comments??? Sorry if I did something to make it that long!

        Reply
        • Kristy says

          January 2, 2012 at 8:42 pm

          No idea!

          Reply
  14. Kierstan says

    January 2, 2012 at 10:06 pm

    Nice work on the mile repeats! I just started marathon training today too (even though I don’t have an April/May marathon picked out yet) and kicked things off with 8x800s. With the crazy winds, I moved things inside to the treadmill and knocked them out at 6:58ish pace.

    Here’s to marathon training 2012!

    Reply
  15. Pink Runner says

    January 2, 2012 at 10:16 pm

    You are so fast! 🙂

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Lansing Marathon Training, Week #1 | Runnin' From The Law says:
    January 2, 2012 at 7:05 pm

    […] Kristy started Boston training today with some speedy miles!  Go Kristy Go! GA_googleAddAttr("AdOpt", "1"); GA_googleAddAttr("Origin", "other"); GA_googleAddAttr("theme_bg", "ffffff"); GA_googleAddAttr("theme_text", "333333"); GA_googleAddAttr("theme_link", "0066cc"); GA_googleAddAttr("theme_border", "f2f7fc"); GA_googleAddAttr("theme_url", "ff4b33"); GA_googleAddAttr("LangId", "1"); GA_googleAddAttr("Autotag", "health"); GA_googleAddAttr("Tag", "lansing-marathon-training"); GA_googleAddAttr("Tag", "lansing-marathon-training"); GA_googleFillSlot("wpcom_sharethrough"); Share this:MoreLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. This entry was posted in Lansing Marathon Training and tagged Lansing Marathon Training. Bookmark the permalink. ← Kicking Off 2012 With a HM PR! […]

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