Notes
VO2Max "Blend" Interval
Goal: 4 x [0.8 mile @5k (6:30 pace), 2 min, 300m@5k - 25 sec (6:05 pace), 4 min]
Actual: 4 x [.82 mile at 6:29 pace, 2 min, 300m@6:02 pace; 4 min] - Overall 6:24 pace for 4.03 miles.
Felt good on these (and no leg pains). Ran the first 0.8 mile to .88 miles so I could then run the next three at .8 mile. First cycle felt great. On the second cycle started to get a stitch at end of the .8 mile segment. And then felt it a little on the 300m segment (and thought that the 2nd half of this interval was going to be a struggle). Then on the 3rd cycle, starting the .8 mile segment, 6:31 pace began to feel harder and harder. I thought I was starting to hit the proverbial wall (and getting disappointed). At about 1/4 mile there was no way I could continue, but I began to sense that there was something wrong because I could feel "more incline" in my feet (as if the treadmill had concocted a diabolical plan to make this harder by increasing the incline). So I toggled the machine down fr 1.0% to 0.5% and it was like going from 5% to 1% as it took several seconds and felt like I was running downhill? I tested again going back to 1% a little later but could feel that this was significantly more (and this was only happening now vs. prior). So finished up and then jumped over to another treadmill to finish out. The final 0.8 mile segment felt unbelievably smoother on the new treadmill at 1% and pushed it harder (HR peaked when I pushed the final 0.2 mile at 6:22 pace), and then pushed the final 300m at a speedier pace.
Ran a VO2Max Blend month ago (3/4 mile vs. .82 mile on the 5k segments) and HR was significantly lower on the first three cycles, no spiked HR on #1 and a little lower on cycle #4.