Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Day 2,791: The difference four degrees makes?

Today was interval day and I was looking forward to the challenge. On the schedule I was supposed to do 3 x 1 mile intervals, with a .35-mile recovery.

Last night I read a new version of the training program I am using (actually the half-marathon book) and it mentioned that the most gains come from intervals being run between 2 and 6 minutes in length and that if my pace exceeded this 6-minute threshold I should not do the longer distance. The older version -- my marathon training plan -- does not have this extra sentence.

Since my last interval pace was more than 7 minutes I opted instead today to do 4 x .75-mile intervals with a 1/4-mile recovery.

It still felt cool out despite the added temperature but I could feel that I wasn't going as fast as I'd been. Maybe it was the temperature and maybe it was the added fatigue of just having done a 14-mile run at (long-run) pace two days earlier.

In any event, I decided to not worry about the pace since all four intervals still fell within my training goal (7:32, 7:30, 7:16, 7:43).

There's only two more weeks of speed training left and then the rest of the way is strength training.

Time: 7:12 a.m.
Temp: 72 degrees
Gear: Technical T-shirt, short (Champion, red), shorts, Skechers Go Run 2.

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