Of Mice and Marathons

Did you account for the extra distance you were running if the reps were being done from lane 3?

The splits above are manual laps, but no, I didn't (even though I know it starts to run a bit longer as you move out). For 4.07 I ran 24:50, or 6:06 pace, which isn't terrible but slower than a 5 mile tempo 12 days on the roads. Just didn't have any turn over.

Legs felt like concrete yesterday even walking. My mileage has jumped up a bit, but I don't think I am doing anything out of the ordinary. I feel like last fall my recovery was almost zero.

Well from lane 3 it is about 15 meters per lap longer than lane 1 - so, that's roughly 60 meters per mile. It is a few seconds to consider. So that 6:05 was likely sub 6. But that doesn't help how you were feeling. May help with the mental aspect though.

Try tracking your nutrition. Maybe there is something going on with it. Use a calorie counter app, input what your are consuming. If you keep an accurate record you can get a breakdown of proteins, carbs and fats.

Thanks. The 6:06 is the adjusted pace. I need to have my iron checked. My diet is pretty much the same as it has been. But I need to dial it in more. I've been lax about my iron supplements for a while now. Need to make sure I stay on them. Something just feels off. I appreciate the advice.

I'm re-iterating my high/low comment. You nailed 4 very good workouts in a row before this one.

Ugh. I know. I need to wait until the evening to do my posts so I can sit on it for a while.

4 x 1 mile w/ 90 seconds rest on Friday. Nothing like getting after the hardest workout I do! A more modest 5 x 1000 with short rest might be more sensible but not really a good predictor.

Jason, how do you manage the 90 sec rest? Is that standing, or do try to jog a 200 at that pace?

I also do 4x1 mile, but we usually do it with a quarter jog, which often turns out to be ~2:30 of recovery. Probably as a result, 4x1 mile splits for me tend to be 2-4 seconds faster than I can handle in a 5k. I'm interested in cutting my rest next time to see if it is closer.

So far my best predictor workout for the 5k is 2 x 1.5 miles with ~5 minute standing/jog recovery. For probably psychological reasons, going beyond the 1 mile mark at that pace is really helpful to me.

It's standing rest. But don't stand still :) I keep walking in circles with my hands over my head. If you can jog it you probably aren't running the right effort. Well, maybe not but the jogs would need to be greater than 10:30 pace I would think.

I've never run a 5k after doing it for some reason. Usually it's done a workout or two before a big half marathon workout for turnover and a sense of the danger zone. I ran 5:30 average for it about a year ago. If I can run ~5:32-5:35 I'll be happy.

2 x 1.5 sounds pretty painful. But at least you can concentrate on two intervals.