Originally, I was planning on doing some 800m repeats for a stamina workout today. But, although I was looking forward to a good workout, I just wasn’t in the mood for 6 x 800m…

So, instead, I decided to shift to a speed workout. I only have a little over a month before my race, and I’m looking ahead to my goals for June (better times in the 800m and 400m). So, I guess a little speedwork is in order.

I went over to the park, warmed up, and intended to do 4 x 400m. My goal was to start with an easy 400m (< 1:40) and then move up progressively towards my goal time (1:30, 1:20, and <1:20).

Well, as usual, I took the first one out way too fast. Doh! Instead of a slow 90-100 seconds, I came through at 83 seconds. I was also running well below 100%, so even though it was faster than I intended I was happy with the outcome. I decided at this point to drop my workout to 3 total 400ms, and aim for 2 quality 400s under 80 seconds.

I walked the rest of the way around the lake and recovered for about 7 or 8 minutes. The next 400m I ran considerably harder – especially through the last 200m – and I came in at 76-77 seconds. At this point, my legs were feeling pretty dead, so I took an extra long recovery (~15 minutes) and went out harder for the last lap. I had to push myself to keep up the pace, but I managed to improve the time, and I came in at 73 seconds. Woot!

Sure, that’s not an excellent time. But this is the first speedwork I’ve done in a few months – I’ve been working strictly on endurance and stamina since June. It suggests to me that I’m also on pace to meet my goals for June. I was running 80-90 seconds last Spring when I first started running. If I’ve got another six or seven months to train, I think I should be able to shave that time down to the low 60′s.

I’m also thinking that this is a good addition to my weekly routine until my 5k. I’m going to try to stick to two stamina runs a week (5k steady states, around 24-25 minutes during the week) with one speed workout (3 x 400m) on the weekend. To round things out, I’m planning on an easy endurance run on Sundays – 5-6 miles to stretch the legs out and keep up the endurance.