Long Ladder Workout [Posted 1/3/06]
It was great fun to be back with my friends this morning for the workout. We had a lot to talk and laugh about, and that helped make this fairly intense run go easier. Gilbert had suggested that we'd vote on the workout, but it turns out that he chose the one I would have voted for anyway, so I didn't mind his totalitarian approach so much. We were to do the 10 mile loop, starting with an easy 20 minutes, then 20 minutes at marathon goal pace (I chose 8:35 again, 3:45 marathon pace), 2:00 easy jog, then 2x10:00 minutes at 15k-20k pace (I had 8:00 in mind, based on Decker) with 1:00 jogs between, and then 6x1:00 minutes at 5K pace (I figured we'd just be blasting on these, so pace was not a detailed concern here), with 15 seconds jog recovery between. After that, it was cooldown jog to the finish.
Warmup was nice and easy in the dark, as we tiptoed along the trail. It was a small group of Gazelles this morning, but we started with almost all of our normal group, Shannon, Rich, Brian, Jennifer and Charlene. Only Amy was missing, due to travel after New Year's weekend. We talked a lot about their tour of Mt. Bonnell and New Year's partying, and generally had fun with the opening bit. Splits were 9:30, 9:32, odd distance at 9:16/mile.
20:00 MGP segment went well, too, and we seemed to have hit our goal pace of 8:30-8:35 on average. We picked it up on the second mile a little, but that's sort of normal. It was Shannon, Rich, Charlene and me as the pace picked up. Brian and Jennifer were on a slightly slower pace just a little behind us. When we reached the end of the segment, it felt pretty comfortable, but faster than the opening segment. Splits were 8:36, 8:20, and .33 miles at 9:10 pace, which may be a GPS glitch. Average was right on target.
After the 2:00 easy jog, it was time for the 2x10:00 pieces at faster pace. Due to my error, the first 10:00 segment was accidentally only 8:00. Oops. I stopped us when my watch read 50:00 instead of allowing for the 2:00 rest period in there. At any rate, pace was 7:56/mile for that first accelerated bit. The 1:00 jog rest wasn't very long, of course, and then it was time to crank it up again. The second 10:00 segment was accurately timed, and our splits were 7:58 and .25 at 7:34. We sped up trying to catch two Gazelles ahead of us. I was pleased with our pacing on these bits, as we pretty much nailed the 8:00 sort of pace I had imagined. Another minute's jog, and it was time to finish off the day.
I didn't individually time the 6 x 1:00 bursts, but with the 1:00 rest jog included, we averaged 7:44 for a mile, so our fast running must have been near 7:00 pace. We also had one last fast bit at 7:20 pace, heading to the Mopac bridge, which was probably our actual running pace. Rich, Shannon and I took turns leading those bursts. We walked back to get a cup or two of water there, and then joined Brian and Jennifer as they swung by, and all of us did our cooldown run together. After the fast running, the cooldown felt really easy, which is the idea, I suppose. Cooldown after water was 2.1 miles at 9:30/mile pace.
Overall, 10.3 miles at 8:45/mile average pace. Quick. We felt awfully good by the time the cooldown was done, and didn't even moan too much about the 10 striders at Auditorium Shores. A handful of us did the full stretching ritual, and I know I needed it in a big way. After that, it was time to get going for my trip back to Lufkin to pick up my truck.
It was great fun to be back with my friends this morning for the workout. We had a lot to talk and laugh about, and that helped make this fairly intense run go easier. Gilbert had suggested that we'd vote on the workout, but it turns out that he chose the one I would have voted for anyway, so I didn't mind his totalitarian approach so much. We were to do the 10 mile loop, starting with an easy 20 minutes, then 20 minutes at marathon goal pace (I chose 8:35 again, 3:45 marathon pace), 2:00 easy jog, then 2x10:00 minutes at 15k-20k pace (I had 8:00 in mind, based on Decker) with 1:00 jogs between, and then 6x1:00 minutes at 5K pace (I figured we'd just be blasting on these, so pace was not a detailed concern here), with 15 seconds jog recovery between. After that, it was cooldown jog to the finish.
Warmup was nice and easy in the dark, as we tiptoed along the trail. It was a small group of Gazelles this morning, but we started with almost all of our normal group, Shannon, Rich, Brian, Jennifer and Charlene. Only Amy was missing, due to travel after New Year's weekend. We talked a lot about their tour of Mt. Bonnell and New Year's partying, and generally had fun with the opening bit. Splits were 9:30, 9:32, odd distance at 9:16/mile.
20:00 MGP segment went well, too, and we seemed to have hit our goal pace of 8:30-8:35 on average. We picked it up on the second mile a little, but that's sort of normal. It was Shannon, Rich, Charlene and me as the pace picked up. Brian and Jennifer were on a slightly slower pace just a little behind us. When we reached the end of the segment, it felt pretty comfortable, but faster than the opening segment. Splits were 8:36, 8:20, and .33 miles at 9:10 pace, which may be a GPS glitch. Average was right on target.
After the 2:00 easy jog, it was time for the 2x10:00 pieces at faster pace. Due to my error, the first 10:00 segment was accidentally only 8:00. Oops. I stopped us when my watch read 50:00 instead of allowing for the 2:00 rest period in there. At any rate, pace was 7:56/mile for that first accelerated bit. The 1:00 jog rest wasn't very long, of course, and then it was time to crank it up again. The second 10:00 segment was accurately timed, and our splits were 7:58 and .25 at 7:34. We sped up trying to catch two Gazelles ahead of us. I was pleased with our pacing on these bits, as we pretty much nailed the 8:00 sort of pace I had imagined. Another minute's jog, and it was time to finish off the day.
I didn't individually time the 6 x 1:00 bursts, but with the 1:00 rest jog included, we averaged 7:44 for a mile, so our fast running must have been near 7:00 pace. We also had one last fast bit at 7:20 pace, heading to the Mopac bridge, which was probably our actual running pace. Rich, Shannon and I took turns leading those bursts. We walked back to get a cup or two of water there, and then joined Brian and Jennifer as they swung by, and all of us did our cooldown run together. After the fast running, the cooldown felt really easy, which is the idea, I suppose. Cooldown after water was 2.1 miles at 9:30/mile pace.
Overall, 10.3 miles at 8:45/mile average pace. Quick. We felt awfully good by the time the cooldown was done, and didn't even moan too much about the 10 striders at Auditorium Shores. A handful of us did the full stretching ritual, and I know I needed it in a big way. After that, it was time to get going for my trip back to Lufkin to pick up my truck.
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