Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

5 miles.
So, the first track workout of the year arrived with a little caution, but more hope than anything. Gorgeous day and the Nauset track only had a few folks on it, so I was good to go.
I warmed up 2 miles and then set out to go 400, 600, 800, 1000 with 75 second (@ 200m) recoveries, looking to hit @ 5:00 pace throughout, in the hope that I can bring myself to a 5k soon without delivering something I'm not proud of.
I did the first 400 in 75, going 38-37. Felt easy.
The 600 went 75 on the 400 and 37 for the next 200. Good.
The 800 went 77-75, which was just fine by me, as I still didn't feel much of any tweaking on either calf and aerobically I was still in OK shape.
The 1000 caught me on a short recovery, but I went 75 for the the first 400, 75 for the next and decided that I may as well kick at least a little to make sure I could press if needed and I did the last 200 in 35 (so if there's an Achilles heel to any of this right now, it's that my sprint speed is definitely a bit, um, lacking.)
Still, I came away from it with only the mildest of reminders of my calf issues and after cooling down for a little over a mile, I came home and iced and I feel OK. I'm still not 100% sure I'll race Sunday, especially as the forecast looks like cold and rain, but if I do, I feel like I should be able to hang on for something at least decent.