Running Workouts with Graphs Pt. 3
Wednesday 5/15
4 sets
600m @ hard effort
600m @ recovery effort
I live on a hill. For this workout, I ran to the bottom, ran up, down the other side, and to the stop sign connecting the other street. I ran to the sign hard, and back to my starting spot as easy as I wanted. The goal was to push hard up the hill, and maintain that discomfort on the other side. This was a fun one. Afterwards, I thought, you can run intervals for time, for distance, or maybe the best way, just pick a spot to run to and back, which you’ll see more of this week.
5/15 PM
Run 30 min @ easy pace
That afternoon I headed to one of my all time favorite running spots, Stratham Hill Park. Clem and I did a quick 30 minutes in, but it was hot so she mostly wanted to swim.
Thursday 5/16
3 sets
2000m @ hard/sustainable pace
-rest till 120bpm-
This was a repeat from the previous week. I wanted to get faster on all 3 since I felt like I held back last week. I was nervous for my first fast, long intervals. All 3 intervals ended up being faster, and I was really tight on the rest (<90 sec), once again forcing this leg pump. While I ran these faster, I’ve still got some speed left on the table. I should also note, this route is a little less than 2k, but it’s another stop sign that I run to in the neighborhood, and generally the “flattest,” course.
Friday 5/17
3 sets
1 mile @ repeatable pace w hard effort
-rest till 100bpm-
After yesterday’s workout I was feeling slow and old, like maybe my fastest mile time from 2019 is completely out of reach since I’m 5 years older and walking around with more muscle mass. I complained to Taylor and he wasn’t buying it, so I decided to try some fast mile repeats, once again on a tight rest to really spend some quality time with a high heart rate. This ended up being a big confidence boost workout. I wanted a 4th round, but I was pretty taxed, and it felt like I would have slowed down too much on that last one to be very productive.
Sunday 5/19
Stonehouse Loop 7.5 miles, 1000ft
This trailhead is 1 mile away from my house, so it’s one of my test pieces that I give a go once or twice a year. The trick wit this run is that despite the biggest climb being 3.5 miles in, the trailhead is at almost the same elevation as that hill, so the last mile is unforgiving, and I tend to not leave enough juice in the tank to finish strong. While I’m nowhere near 2020, and 2021 Justin’s times, I’m within a couple minutes of last year’s, with a lower average heart rate.
Tuesday 5/21
18 sets
Every minutes on the minute:
Run 120 yards (whole length of football field)
This was more of a skill session than a brutal heart rate workout. I wanted to work on my technique; get the legs turning over fast, make sure my hamstrings are firing, and establish a good breathing rhythm. It was also a chance to get out in the heat with low expectation of performance. I wanted 20 rounds, but I was losing the pace towards the end, and beginning to slow down. I started running easy with the intent of getting faster every few round as I warmed up more. I’ll put my cadence graph in here too. Part of more leg turnover is maintaining a higher cadence, or foot strikes. I was happy to see some purple in there. Fun workout, and a good way to ease into the rest of the training week.
Off to run some hills!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
