Wednesday Night Practice

Wednesday night was Tom workout night. I was pretty excited about the workout – I have been getting in my long runs, so I seem to have more endurance lately. Tom mixes things up well so there is some level of excitement about what will he plan for us, and I really like the people I run with – they are cool, supportive, and will not let me get away with anything. Now for those of you in southeastern North Carolina – Wednesday was a very rainy day. We had rain from about 8 am on. I checked the radar picture at 4:30 and it looked like we were going to have a break in the rain, maybe kinda sorta if we are very lucky, so practice was on.

I got to the track about 5:30 – no rain but very soggy – and started my warm-up run (1 mile at very easy AC pace). Coach Kristen was in charge Wed night. She pulled our group together and passed out assignments. We were to do a 20 min AC pace run, then go straight into a 6 lap progressive run. The first lap was to be at AC pace, with each lap just a little faster than the previous one.

Our group ran around UNCW campus for our 20 min run which was nice. It was 70°F with a light breeze. We got back to the track and started our progressive set. Our AC pace was 2:25 min/lap or just under a 10 min mile. Lap 2 was 2:15, Lap 3 was 2:05, then 2:02, 2:00, and 1:55. I was right on pace through 2:02. Lap 5 – my wheels fell off and I dropped back off the group. I tried deep breaths, tried to refocus, tried to pick it up but my legs said No Thank You. Lap 5 was 2:12 and Lap 6 was 2:24.

We then did 4 laps of turnovers – jog the curves and do a pick up on the straights. For us – the straights should be a recovery jog start building to around 80% of all out by about 70 m through 100 m, you should never be out of control on these, then back to a recovery jog in the curve. I love these! There is no pace limit on the curves, just no walking. The straights are fun. My straights were not as fast as other practices but I still love the feeling of the building of speed and holding on until the curve.

We finished with stretching, some planks and pushups. Then home! Not my best workout but not worst either, just an off night. By the way, it started to rain again as soon as I pulled in the driveway.

I have some thoughts on why I had an off night:
1 – I am in marathon mode and have been increasing my long runs. It may take my legs a couple of weeks to get used to the new schedule and requirements.
2 – I am eating cleaner than I have in months. I was doing ok through the Battleship ½ but then my diet took November off. I ate Snicker bars and loved them. I had cake for my daughter’s birthday and after the kids went to bed, I had a bowl of ice cream. Yes – I am a bad person. I am back on the straight and narrow now. So – I am taking in less calories and that may be having an effect on my short term energy. I am going to stick to the new clean eating diet for at least a month and see how things go.
3 – I have has three nights in a row of less than normal sleep. I like to average 7.5 to 8 hours a night and have been in the 5.5 to 6 range since Sunday. Last night I went to bed early and go a solid 8 hours sleep.

Saturday should be interesting – several of us are going to run our long runs together. I have 12 miles on my schedule.