Track Workout

Last night’s workout was tough.  We did 4x1200 with a 400 recovery interval.  The longer distance is certainly not pleasant, but the heat added a whole new level of pain.  Mentally, I thought I could manage 5:30 splits which translates to a 7:20/mile pace.  I was guessing the effort should be between mile race pace (7:00) and 5K race pace (8:00).

The first one was great at 5:26, but I certainly went out faster than I would have liked (1:45, 1:53, 1:48 were the 400 splits).  Once I had the feel down, I was going out slower and the first 400 was around 1:50 to 1:52 and my 1200’s were at 5:36 for both.  I was thrilled with this, but starting to wear out physically and mentally.

I was really hoping the group would decide to just do 3x1200 instead of finishing the workout.  With everything left in the tank, my fourth 1200 was a dismal 5:50.  Even walking sections of the recovery interval could not get me back on form.  Overall it was a great workout and it was nice to get the feel for longer intervals.  I still prefer 400 and 800 intevals.