I finally got around the the track work that was supposed to be my "long" run this past weekend. (Weekend = Thursday, apparently.) As long as it gets done, right. Since I am supposed to be tapering for my half on Sunday and you can't taper from NOTHING, I figured a couple of miles on the track wouldn't hurt anything. I put my kiddos and my recently operated-upon husband into bed and headed for the closest track.
I dressed in running shorts and a lightweight tech t-shirt because it was 85 degrees when I started my run. (More on that choice in a minute.) However, I was delightfully surprised to discover that the track is completely shaded at 7:30 in the evenings. There was even a lady walking the track while her 4 kids played on the field in the middle, so I wasn't alone.
It was a bit of a walk from the car, through the grass that really needed to be cut, to the track, so I considered that my warm up. I dropped my water bottle on a bench and went to a place where the grass had broken through the concrete to start my run. (This is the track at the high school, but it is not the high school track. The football and track teams use the stadium at the old high school, which is now the middle school. This track is probably used twice a year for the mile run, so it is not in the best condition.) I started the watch and took off for my first half mile.
There was some debate on how I should do this speed work. I am a loyal Galloway Girl - I follow the intervals like it is my job. My watch beeps and I walk. It beeps again and I run....for however far I need to go. But, I knew going in that I can run a 1/2 mile straight. Hence the dilemma. Do I run the half mile without walk breaks or do I use my intervals? After some discussion with my various running friends, I decided to just run the half mile. After the first lap, I was pretty sure that the track was short. I was on pace for a 10 minute mile. (Yes, I know that I can run a 10 minute mile, but I can do it for exactly one mile and I felt like I was hauling behind while I was doing it. I didn't feel like that on the track. I was just running.) I came back to my little crack of grass after my first half mile and took the split - 5.05. Then I walked one lap (1/4 mile) at a leisurely pace, got some water, and lined up for another 1/2 mile. I got faster, but I slowed back down for the last two repeats. Some of the slowdown can be attributed to talking to the little girls who decided to join me for part of my run. I guess their mom was going to slow for them. I am a sucker for little kids (blame that on the teacher in me) and if a kid talks to me, I am going to talk back. But, I also got tired for the last two repeats. Hopefully more track work will help that.
After the first two steps of my running, I realized that the running shorts were a gross error in judgment. I have too much going on in the thigh region for running shorts to work for me. They were riding up and sticking and rubbing and miserable. Thank goodness I had the foresight to use Body Glide before I left the house or I would have set the woods on fire with all of that rubbing. Maybe having to constantly pull my shorts down contributed to the speed (or lack of). Maybe I am still just slow....who knows??
In short, I liked track work. 2 laps around the track with the promise of a little walk afterwards is totally doable. I liked the challenge of trying to go faster. I liked the fact that I could run those half miles without stopping for 4 repeats.
The down and dirty:
1 - 5.05.10
2 - 4.53.79
3 - 5.02.00
4 - 5:02:25
So, I got faster from the first lap, but slower for laps 2, 3, and 4. How do I fix that?? (Don't say, "Run faster.")
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