Short and Sweet

Not much to say about my latest track workout. It was short and sweet. Ten sets of 200 meters each at a 8:00 minute per mile pace. The original plan called for 100 meter jogs between each 200 meters but I decided to walk/jog 200 meters instead. I think if I had stuck to the original plan and actually jogged only the 100 meters my times would not be quite so good.

See, I went to the Taste of Chicago on my lunch break today and ate lots of junk food. My coworker joked that instead of calling it "The Taste" they should call it "The Fried". I had French fries with mango-cumin sauce, plantains, a fried banana dumpling with ground pork filling, spicy rice with goat meat, and a large slice of Eli's turtle cheesecake. Totally not good run-fueling foods! I admit to spending the afternoon feeling rather dazed and kind of bloated. It was worth it though. Even though we got rained on and it was cold outside. At least now I can say I'm no longer a Taste of Chicago virgin.

Anyway, I know speedwork is supposed to be hard and you're supposed to push yourself. But I admit to taking it easy during the recovery meters. But, I pushed it hard during the speed ones and did every single one of them faster than an 8:00 minute per mile pace.

My times? If you can interpret the chart, go for it. Otherwise, all you need to know is that I made my goal and then some.




I started out with a half mile jog where I went a little faster than I meant to. Oops. I paused to stretch my calves and then it was right into the speed work. I took a break at the half way point to stretch my shins (the left one was acting up), my IT Band (running on the track makes them feel tight) and drink some water. On the last speed lap, though, the ball of my right foot was killing me! So, even though I had planned to jog a cool-down half mile, I ended up walking it instead. Gotta take care of those tootsies! S, not counting the half-mile I walked, I did a total of 3.14 miles. See, I told you it was short!

Now I'm wondering if my foot pain was due to needing new shoes or because I was focusing on running on the balls of my feet. I'm really bad about keeping track of how many miles I have on a pair of shoes. Either way, I'd hate to get a new pair of shoes this late in the game. I guess I'll see how I feel on my long run this weekend.

Also, I found out who the group is that I see doing speedwork every time I'm at the track. They're a sub-group of a local running club. I've been thinking about joining the club. I think I'll do it after the half-marathon is over so that I will still be accountable and not slack off. Although, if I sign up to run a race with Kim I certainly can't slack off or she'll kick my butt!