Four Mile Monster

Four miles doesn't seem so bad, does it? When you train for and run marathons, trust me, four miles is not bad at all.

I had that thought in mind when I set out for a speedwork session on Wednesday morning. I had a simple plan. I had a four-mile route planned out and I'd run an easy first .5 of a mile and then start in on the speedwork. I'd run two minutes pretty fast, not all out but fast, and then two minutes easy. I figured I'd do that for a few miles, so maybe four to six of those sprints. That might get me close to four miles, so I'd tack on some time at the end to allow for a proper cooldown.

So, how did it work out?

Well, here's the speedwork in all its statistical glory.

Not bad, right? Looks like I had a good, solid run and met my goal.

The part in orange is basically fast. Red is like no way I can run that fast for more than a few steps, but orange is more like my 5K-10K pace.

Let me break down the segments for you to give you a feel of how it really went because there are some things this graph doesn't show.

Minutes 1-6


This is going to be fun. Well, not fun but it's going to a challenge. I wonder if four miles will be enough?

Wait, it seems like I'm going to fast. Time to dial it back some. I wonder if I'll have to remind myself to slow down during my easy parts.

Minutes 6-14


Okay, this is a pretty good clip. Just gotta keep this up here for a couple of minutes not bad. I wonder if this is my 5K pace or how fast I'm going.

Here we are, the one-mile mark. I wonder what my pace is?

micoach app: "Pace: 7 minutes 45 seconds per mile."

Alright, that's good, right?? I wasn't really trying to run at a 5K pace but, well, this is *speedwork* How much more time until I can slow down?

Minutes 14-24

Whew! This workout's really testing me. These rest segments aren't all that restful. I guess I'm still going fast but it's more like a 10K pace, well, faster than my 10K pace. Even though not sure it really feels like it, feels like I'm going slower.

I haven't slowed down though, so must be. I wonder if four miles is too long. Alright, here comes a rest. I could use a rest.

Minutes 24-28


Seriously?!? I just slowed down. How could the two minutes possibly be up? This stupid watch must be broken.

Minutes 29-33


Oh Lord, I think I have one more sprint left in me. Okay, let's go, legs churning, fight through it.

*cough*

*cough*

Aw crap, that's your 5K cough. I'm getting near puke threshold. Who's idea was it to run this stupid speedwork anyway? Four miles is too damn long.


Minutes 34-37

*cough*

*hack*

*grunt*

*panting*

Oh... crap... I.... am done... with

*cough*

the... sprints.

*clearing throat*

Can I be done, period? No? Crap. Oh well, finish strong... nah, screw that. Let's just cruise into the final. If I wanted to run fast at the end I'd have run another stupid two-minute segment.