Speedy Gonzales

That's what I'm feeling like. We did two speed workouts this week. On Monday, we warmed up for a mile, then ran 1 mile loops at half-marathon pace, with 30 second recovery. We did four of these. I tried to slow down to 12 mm, but it was too hard. First loop was 10:45, second was 10:22. Oops! Slowed down to 11:01 for the third loop, then the last was 10:59. Coach Sarah joined me at the end and I told her I kept running too fast. She said if I was able to talk at the pace I was running, then I was running at the right pace. It was supposed to be 85% heart rate. I don't really know what my maximum HR is, so I just go by how I feel. Sarah noticed how much stronger I'm running and asked if I had lost weight. Hadn't she noticed? I told her I lost about 15 pounds and she said that would explain it. I guess the number of pounds you lose equates to the number of minutes you lop off of your finish time. Who knew losing weight would make that much of a difference! Makes the sacrificing worth it. :-)

On Wednesday, Coach Gary joined me for my workout. He doesn't usually go to that club, but he works nearby and needed to get some running in. I was glad he showed up, because no one else in my group did. The workout included a new route for me. We ran from the club to a nearby lake. At the lake, we were to run hard for 45 seconds, then a working recovery (which I think means don't walk) for 2 minutes. Repeat for a total of six intervals. I don't have my times for the 45 seconds, but let's just say I flew. This is a new feeling for me!

Both Gary and I live within the city limits and we're lost in the suburbs. We were supposed to run around the lake, then back to the club for a total of 7 miles. Neither Gary nor I knew the area and somehow we ended up with 8.5 miles instead of 7. Oh well, we needed the miles even though we didn't plan to be out so late.

Since this training seems to be paying off, I need a race to prove it. I had wanted to do the Well Fargo Half Marathon with Gary and AmyBee, but something came up and I can't do it. So I signed up for the Fargo Half, which is a couple of weeks later. I've never run it before and I'm looking forward to it. Tomorrow Gary and I are running 14 miles to get ready for our respective races.