Mile attempt #7

I just got back from a tough interval workout and thought it was about time to write about my 7th mile attempt. We got home from Utah Saturday night, and I wanted to take advantage of the decrease in elevation as soon as possible (more than a 4000 foot difference). So I headed over to the track Tuesday morning. I managed to follow my own recommendations from my previous attempt, so things went a lot better than last time.

1. Make sure my warm-up is closer to 1 mile than 3.
I drove to the track instead of running the 3 miles, did a half mile warm-up, and felt a lot fresher when it was time to get going.

2. Go earlier in the morning before it gets too hot.
This was a little harder to do in Phoenix. I forgot how quickly things heat up here. I got to the track just after 7 AM and it was already 91 degrees.

3. Stick to the game plan - 1:20 quarters.
I made use of the "interval timer" mode on my watch, and set it to beep every 20 seconds, which is the amount of time it should take to go 100m to stay on pace for a 5:20 mile.

4. Don't stay up so late watching 24.
Well, I didn't stay up late watching 24. It was The Office, our new obsession. Hilarious!

My right knee has been a little sore since my long run with my brother-in-law at Bear Lake, so I stretched a little before my run and had no problems with it. I started out being exactly where I wanted to be when my timer beeped for the entire first lap, clocking a time of 1:20. Beeps every 20 seconds makes it really easy to see when I am starting to fall behind, and the second and third laps made it clear that I needed to pick up the pace. After 3 laps, my time was 4:05, meaning that if I was going to make my goal of 5:20, I would need to run a 1:15 final 400m (the pace I need for my ultimate goal of 5 minutes). I crossed the finish line, looked down at my watch, and let out a loud "Yes!" 5:21. A new PR by 4 whoppin' seconds! I'm getting closer, and I can see myself getting it soon. Especially if I focus my workouts more specifically on the mile.

So, today I ran 5x400m intervals. My goal was to do them at 1:10 each. Here are my splits:
1:07
1:11
1:08
1:12
1:10

Very encouraging. I was exhausted, but very pleased. More workouts like this is what I need to get there.

Stay tuned for mile attempt #8.