Notes
First interval workout of the season, early Saturday morning. Assigned repeat 1200s with a minute rest between each interval. 1200= 2 laps around the baseball fields. Me, Mike, and Jesse were given a pace of 4:25 to hit. Our first two I ran with both of them, and we were too fast. On the next three I fell off of them, and the pace slowed for all of us as well. I didn't feel too bad dehydrated-wise, but my legs were definitely sore. I also had some oatmeal before the workout, which is definitely too heavy- I felt like I was going to puke at points. A banana or a slice of toast is probably a better idea, ideally an hour or so before.
In any case, I felt that this was a pretty good workout. Obviously it is somewhat disappointing that I couldn't be running with Jesse and Mike today, but I still believe the workout was not too bad. Some bright notes:
1. NO CRAMP! Again, as with last year, by the first Saturday of the season my phantom cramp has gone. There was a hint of it maybe once, and I just breathed it away. Thats certainly a good thing.
2. I'm ahead of where I was this time last year, where I did 4X1200 with two minutes rest between each interval, and 4:15, 4:20, 4:30, 4:40. Being able to do one more 1200, with one minute less rest, and having the pace still be within 5 seconds, is a definite improvement.
Now in regards to learning from the workout, let's list some things I can improve on, without just saying "Run faster" or "beat Jesse and Mike D"
1. Not once this workout did I run the prescribed pace. Z told us to run 4:25-4:30 and move down as we go. I definitely ran myself into the ground running the first two much faster. Granted, the reason I did so was because everyone (in my group) was fast on the first one, but I think that next time I need to slow down regardless and run the workout getting faster, instead of getting slower, which is a horrible habit that I have gotten into.
2. Another thing that I do is I allow myself to fall behind the people I run with, and then work from the back. In other words, I believe that I allow ground to open up between Mike D, Jesse, and I, and then I pretty much hold my position. If at all possible, I should try to stick with them rather than let them gain on me and then stay permanently 50m ahead (or whatever it is).
3. With that said, I don't want to feel like I'm redlining every workout (I don't think). That seems like a bad plan. It's the races that count, and I want to feel like I can go faster than I have been during workouts. That doesn't mean I shouldn't be working very hard during the workouts; it just means that they're not a race, and that they need to be run intelligently.