I’m trying to remember how to run fast. (Do I have to keep saying “fast for me” every time? It’s implied.) My muscles seem to have forgotten, considering how the backs of my legs feel three days after my 5K. So I came up with a mini-plan for the next 3.5 weeks leading up to the Turkey Day Minneapolis 5K, based on one of Hal Higdon’s 8 week 5K plans. I started it Monday night with a 1.9 mile treadmill run. My treadmill crapped out at 1.9 miles so that was an inauspicious start.

Last night, I had 6 x 400 on my schedule. I did 6 x 0.25 miles, which is basically the same thing, but my watch is in imperial units, so that’s what I go by. I walked/jogged 0.1 miles between reps, which worked out to about 1:30-1:40 of active recovery between reps.

Here’s how things went: 8:43 (included a hill), 8:43 (included a hill), 8:17, 8:32, 8:20, 8:55.

So, that was probably not very smart running. I need to try a couple other things next week.

1. Run a flatter route (I ran the Lakewalk and hit both hills at Leif Erikson Park).
2. Slow down. I think aiming for a nice, even 8:45 pace would be smarter than just kind of going balls-out and seeing what happens. The reps are supposed to be run at a mile pace, and I think 8:45 is a reasonable mile pace for me.
3. Reduce recovery time. With an overall slower and more sustainable pace, I can reduce the recovery distance to 0.05 miles.

Next Tuesday I’ll be doing another set of repeats, unfortunately mostly in the dark just like yesterday (I started late due to a work function), thanks to the end of daylight saving time. Ugh.