One of unfortunate things about doing a lot of my runs before the sun comes up is the lack of the track in my life.
I’ve been missing it a lot.
We got back from the beach on Sunday, but I had taken Monday off from work. I am really glad I did because I got a lot of some much needed work done!
We ended up sleeping in later than expected, which meant that we were going to be facing some brutal heat on our track workout. I’ve been lacking sleep lately so I wasn’t upset that I chose one morning to sleep in.
After we got up and took a bit to wake up, we packed up the backpack and grabbed about 4 things of water and headed out to the local high school track.
It’s no secret that my training schedule is a little mixed right now. Some weeks I stick to the typical Hansons Marathon Method schedule and the some weeks I mix things up a bit. This week I decided to mix it up some.
Wes had a pretty tough workout on the schedule, so he suggested we alter it a bit and see how it goes.
The workout:
2 mile warm up (with 2 x 1 minute pickups)
3 x (2:00 minutes at 7:00 min pace, 2:00 minutes at 8:00 min pace)
3 miles at goal marathon pace
Cool down
The toughest part of this workout, excluding the insane heat and humidity, was going directly from the 2:00 x 2:00 into the 3 miles at goal marathon pace. In fact, the original plan was to do 4 miles but I quickly realized that wasn’t going to happen.
I beat myself up a little bit at the end of it, but then compared it against what was on my husband’s schedule and it made me feel better. He had the same as above except 5 x (2:00/2:00) and then 5 miles at goal marathon pace.
He hit his workout pretty perfectly, and to be honest I was jealous because my GMP was slower than 7:35 due to heat. It was 91 degrees outside and 70 degree dew point. Add in the extra heat that comes from the track and it was probably close to 96-98 degrees. He’s really killing his training this time around and I can’t wait to see what he does in Chicago!
In total I ended up with just over 10 miles for the day.
It reminded me just how much I miss being able to do workouts on the track. It also reminded me how much I love being out there together.
The pain, the misery, the joy all of it rolled into one is such a great feeling. It’s almost like my focus kicks in even more when I’m out there. Even though it’s hard and it hurts, it adds a new level of fun as well!
I treasure these days when I am able to get in a workout out there. It may be a love/hate relationship, but deep down I have a lot of love for the track!
Do you enjoy doing workouts on the track?
Where do you normally do workouts?
Great job – I am a wimp and avoid the track, since I always lose track of how far I need to go. With the garmin, though, I no longer have that excuse. I always prefer running on the roads to the track, since I get tired quickly of going in circles. So – high fives to you for sticking with it and it is so nice that you could it with your husband, if you had different goals!
That weather is insane. I live in the west so we don’t have the insane heat or humidity. I am at 6300 ft elevation tho, but obviously I’m acclimated growing up here.
I do the speed and strength workouts on a track. It works just to watch your splits and get down your pace. I started out doing some tempos on an indoor track, but realized they needed to be outside to mimic the marathon better. It took some adjusting to as I puked a few times – horrible feeling. Did my first 10 mile tempo this morning. 2 more left! I won’t miss these workouts lol
Wow – That is hot! Great job to both of you for getting your workout done.
I love the track and have now found one that is unlocked and only a 10 minute drive from my house. I have been using it in the mornings before work, so it is dark out. Plus, these workouts are by myself. Even if I am not doing the same workout as other runners, I usually like to have runners around – feels more like a team even when you don’t even know the others.
~ Run with joy!