Well done partner! It's hard to beat the feeling that follows a successful track work out. But doing lines of good coke off a stripper's ass comes pretty close.

But doing lines of good coke off a stripper's ass comes pretty close.

I may try that this weekend, especially if it helps me get my mug. I appreciate everyone's advice, encouragement, and interest.

From what I've read on training paces, you do not run intervals faster than current ability. Why I do not know, but you do get faster than what you were running the speedwork. I surmise that running them faster is over-training.

Most intervals are designed to improve your VO2max or rather, vVO2max (your velocity at VO2max). If you do Daniel's training, this corresponds to I-Pace. It's the fastest possible pace you can hold for about 12 minutes. Anyhow, it's possible to do shorter intervals at >100% vVO2max. But your VO2max isn't getting any more benefit from running at 105% vVO2max than at 100% vVO2max. Running above 100% places additional stresses your body without actually improving the system you are trying to improve with the workout. A good training pace calculator here: http://www.attackpoint.org/trainingpaces.jsp

Despite my heroic considerations of running these intervals in 3:20, I was pretty nervous when I got to the track this morning. I haven't run an interval workout since I started running again and frankly, I wasn't confident I could finish the workout. Ran a mile warmup and started the intervals (6x 800 with 400 recoveries)- 800's- 3:37, 3:38, 3:38, 3:35, 3:34, 3:30 400's ranged between 2:05 and 2:12 I was pretty suprised. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't the agony I anticipated either. I actually had to slow down in the second lap of each interval to hit my target. I resisted the temptation to blow through the last two, and just ran a little faster than I had earlier. I feel good. Now I need a shower.

Nice, Len. Perfectly done.

You rock, Len! I look forward to hearing how this goes for you. I need to follow suit and do some of this speed work stuff. Oh, and bring your taser to the monkey!

Dude! That's a great workout. Since your race is the 4th I think you want to make your last hard workout no later than the 25th. So that gives you possibly one more. If you do the 6 x 800 again, keep the recovery to 200m and aim for the same pace you ran today. mta: Doing the math, you don't have time to recover from this one and squeeze in another 6 x 800 workout. What you could do is next Tuesday or Wednesday do a 3-4 mile tempo run. Don't do it too hard, you want to finish feeling energized. Then on Monday the 30th (or Tuesday the 1st at the latest) you can do a little leg turnover workout. I like to do 10 x 300m at 5k pace with 100m jogs. This should feel like cake. If nothing else it will help you get a feel for how easy 5k pace should feel at the beginning of the race.

This should be fun to watch, Len! It's gonna be close! Puking post race is gonna be mandatory, methinks. Get pics.

Pardon me if this is a hijack, but I never get close to the puking, my legs start hurting long before I reach that stage (feel like shin splints) and I slow down. How do I push through that stage so I can experience the joy of dry heaving?

I'm not sure puking should be the goal. I have no science to back this up but I think puking is usually a result of some kind of deficiency in training or really bad pacing or getting too stressed out by the intensity of racing...I knew kids who puked after races or even workouts in high school, but I never did. But I puked after my first few 5K's that I ever ran as an adult. Once I got past that, though, I have not come close to puking since and I've been able to push myself much harder at the end of races and workouts with practice than I ever could during my puking days. I'm not sure exactly what I did differently then versus now. I am definitely way fitter, and I'm much, much better at pacing. I also think I'm better psychologically at dealing with the intensity of racing. Honestly only at the very end of a 5k should you really feel like you're "pushing." The first mile you should feel like you're holding back slightly, the second you're kind of riding the edge but keeping things under control, at the start of the last mile you start to transition toward letting things get a little out of control and then, in the last 600m or so, just outright hurling yourself over the edge. It took a lot of practice racing 5k's before I ever got to the point of even being able to really push hard in the last 600m or so--up until that point I was just surviving the last mile or so, trying not to rig up and slow down too much.