Interval Training In The Cold

Oh my goodness does interval training hurt. I am so glad it is out of the way until next Monday, even though I’m thinking about adding another session Friday or Saturday. Hopefully, I can come up with some excuses not to do it. I did 10x400 again on the track, and reps four through ten were nightmares. I thought the cold weather would make it easier. I think it made it harder, or maybe I’m doing it wrong. I run 400 meters in under two minutes and fifteen seconds and then I rest for a minute – rinse and repeat. The first two reps are fun. I’m haulin’ ass. I’m thinking about my stride. I’m pumping my arms. I’m running the turns. I’m not pacing myself at all, which is dumb. I’m running as fast as is comfortable, and I finish the two reps at sub seven minute paces. That’s way too fast, but I’m from the school of “if it’s not hurting then you’re not working”. The third rep is my body figuring out what’s going on and starting to hurt in the last hundred meters. I guess I’m working now. Everything else is me hanging on for dear life. Reps four through ten are torture. I may get fifty yards into them before I want to quit. I don’t pay attention to where I am on the track or how far I have to go before rep four, and the minute break seems like a long time. Reps four and after I know exactly how far I have to go and I start getting antsy if my Garmin doesn’t start beeping to let me know I have less than fifty feet left when I KNOW that I’ve run more than a quarter mile. During the seventh rep I looked at my watch, certain that I had less than a hundred feet to go; I had 351. I almost started crying. Fortunately, interval training pays immediate dividends because if it didn’t I would not be doing it. I think this is my third session and I can run comfortably at a pace thirty seconds faster than when I added them. What’s funny is my perception. I swear my watch is cheating me out of rest time as the workout goes on. There’s no way that was a minute. That was eight seconds at the most!!!