Quality workout = tired legs

I'll admit it, I tend to whine a bit whenever the repeats are greater than 800m (just ask Mike W). For some strange reason I just don't like running at max heart rate for more than a couple of minutes. I'm an endurance guy, not a speed guy. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

On Wednesday I took my complaints to the track and did the workout anyways, to the joy of Mike Wade, Mike Wright and Jim Hansen I'm sure. For the most part we all ran the workout together, pushing and pulling each other along the way. Definitely easier to do a workout like this with a group.

The workout:
3200m @ 10k pace
800 rest
1600m @ 10k pace
400m rest
1200m @ 10k pace
400m rest
800m @ 10k pace
200m rest
400m @ 10k pace
200m rest
400m @ 10k pace

The result:
3200m @ 6:13 pace
1600m @ 6:01 pace
1200m @ 5:57 pace
800m @ 5:55 pace
400m @ 5:26 pace
400m @ 5:22 pace

Sometimes I wonder when we do a track workout if it has any purpose or is the coach just trying to kill us for his personal amusement. Tonight it clicked. The workout seemed to have a purpose and talking with Coach Jim after the workout confirmed it. The purpose was to simulate race conditions, start out a little more controlled (not slow) and slowly increase the pace, finishing strong (and tired) at the end. The result is much more satisfying than going out like a flash and limping in at the end.

Although tough, it was a quality workout. Unfortunately my recoveries are not as fast as they used to be. I attempted a 9 mile run last night. My legs were tired, sore, fatigued and a slew of other adjectives so I cut my run short (3.2 miles) and headed for home. Another day.