10×1 Mile Repeats…. Yummy!
I know you guys think I’m crazy to talk about interval training being so fun. But I have to admit, I am really starting to enjoy it. That’s not to say that it isn’t hard work. I mean… IT IS HARD WORK. But it is fun hard work. It’s the kind of hard work that makes you say… WOW! I just did something really hard! That’s cool!
So tonight, I was scheduled to do 10 x 1 mile repeats. This sounded like it was going to be really hard. I am supposed to run these repeats at 7:00/mile… that’s fast for me. But I’ll admit, I’m not great at managing my speed… and so I can run faster, and honestly I have a hard time telling if I’m running faster.
But assuming I run the workout I’m scheduled to do, then I should need to take 70 minutes to run the miles, plus, let’s say 2 minutes between work efforts, so 18 more minutes, then through in some warm up and cool down and you’ve got at least 90 minutes of a workout and maybe even two hours. Especially when you consider commuting to and from the track. And since I couldn’t leave the house till about 8:30pm, after the kids were asleep, then… well… this was going to be a hard workout and a late workout.
It turns out, that my pacing is so bad… that well… the workout took only 1 hour and 29 minutes… and it started something like this…
- 1 mile warmup… 6:46 - what? Uh… that’s faster than I’m supposed to run my repeats… let’s call that a repeat.
- 2 min cool down, walk 200m, heart rate down to 55% (110) - good enough… run some more!
- 6:19.74 - huh… 40.26 seconds faster than my goal, 1:10 faster than race pace… huh…
- 2 min cool down, walk 200m, heart rate below 55%… I see a trend here.
So basically, I’m running much faster than my goal… am I blowing myself up? I don’t feel like it… but I’ve only run two miles. I have eight more to do. The next 4 repeats go:
6:28.50, 6:36.04, 6:45.02, 6:51.73
Ok, at this point I will admit, I am wondering if I can make it. I’ve completed 6 miles of repeats, I have 4 more to go, and I’m thinking that I may have pushed myself too far. But I figure, you know what, lets just run one more repeat at a time. If I totally blow up on a repeat then I’ll call it a night. But if I can keep around my 7min/mile goal, then I’ll keep running. The next 4 repeats are:
6:42.65, 6:44.56, 6:37.92, 6:41.51
Oddly enough, my second to last repeat felt like the slowest one… I would have guessed I was running more like 8:00/mile. I didn’t feel like I was in pain or anything like that, it just didn’t seem like I was running that fast. I’m not sure what this means. Was I completely spent and basically unaware of my energy reserves because they were empty? Or was I in a groove, and the effort seemed easier than it was? Not sure… but seeing how I managed to run 10 mile repeats all under 6:50/mile, it seems to me that it was a pretty good workout.
I’ll admit, that around repeat 8, I was doubting it, and skeptical of my coaches strategy. 
In the end, I decided that the best aspect of this workout was that it builds mental toughness. As I can honestly say, repeats 9 and 10 were much more about convincing myself to keep going, then it was about fatigue or effort.
After a short 300 meters or so cool down, I headed home with a sense of accomplishment. In two weeks I’ll take on 12×1mile repeats… after tonight, I know that I can do it, but I also know it will be a tough workout mentally.
Workout:
- Type: Run
- Date: 10/30/2007
- Time: 21:00:00
- Total Time: 1:29:17.00
- Average Heart rate: 154
- Max Heart rate: 173
- Calories: 1271
- Distance: 11.38 miles
- Average Pace: 7:50.59/mile
- Max Pace: 6:19.75/mile
Filed under: Run, marathon, mile repeats, run, speed training |
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6 Comments: :
10×1 Mile Repeats…. Yummy!
October 31st, 2007 7:30 am
Brad Hefta-Gaub says:
Small update… Ok, I admit, I’m a little sore this morning. Not as sore as a long run… but certainly more sore than a typical 7 mile tempo run. Gee… I wonder why?
October 31st, 2007 11:44 am
Hobbes says:
Brad - these are fantastic times . . . so now I’m thinking that your efforts on interval training are really starting to pay off, so maybe I should be doing more of this. After all, as you say, if is fun, in a this-is-going-to-hurt-a-bit-but-I’ll-feel-great-after kind of way.
October 31st, 2007 2:25 pm
ironmed says:
Brad, those are some solid times. However, I don’t understand how you can consistently run “off-pace” on a track since you can check your splits every 200/400m and adjust your pace accordingly. Having the first couple be off is pretty common but I’m curious to know what your target HR and RPE was for these workouts? Also, what was the recovery? 2 mins standing or jogging? Good luck with the rest of your training!
October 31st, 2007 2:59 pm
Brad Hefta-Gaub says:
IronMed,
As for adjusting every 200/400 meters, yes, I tried to do this, but I should mention that the track was dark (no lights on the track/field so I only had ambient light from the streets) and so I had to press a button on my Forerunner to see my pace. I did try to do this, but I guess the truth is that I was just comfortable running at about a 6:45 pace and so I kept doing it.
My average HR was 154 (77%) and my max HR was 173 (86%), my perceived level of effort was medium to hard. I didn’t feel like I was killing myself. I felt like I was working hard. I’m sure if I had run at 7:00/mile then I would have felt like it was a much easier effort.
My recoveries were walking/jogging, not standing. I was getting to about 120bpm (60%) within about 1:15 of walking about 150m, and then I’d jog to about 200 meters, then start running again.
October 31st, 2007 4:12 pm
Lisa Sabin says:
Great workout. 10 x 400m is difficult, but also fun. You are putting in some solid work here. You were a little faster than plan, but your HR is in line. As long as you are feeling good and recovering this is good news. Phil had better watch out!
October 31st, 2007 11:35 pm
Brad Hefta-Gaub says:
Hey now coach! I ran 10×1 mile! Not 10×400m.