Running Interval PR

Last week, I did my first real speed work in many months. I went out for a simple 2x2 mile interval run. I figured it was a good hard effort run without TOO much quick/sharp speed 2.5 weeks before my first duathlon of the year.

My first interval had nice descending 1/2 mile splits mainly because this was the first hard running I'd done in a while and I wasn't sure what I could do:

- 2:59.40, 2:56.70, 2:53.73, 2:49.10 = 11:38.93

And as I started my final interval (after 3:00 of walking), I told myself that I was NOT going to descend this one - I just wanted to run it HARD all the way through. And the splits look like that: they look a bit like a race where I start a bit harder, slow up a little, and then push to the finish:

- 2:51.19, 2:53.77, 2:50.87, 2:48.66 = 11:24.49

After my workout, I tweeted about it, and Coach Jen started tweeting back. (She was the one to first give me this workout nearly 7 years ago.) Here was our conversation over the course of a few hours:

I was SHOCKED to realize this was faster! In 2010, I was in better running shape (I'd just set my 17:11 5K PR earlier that year), AND I was really trying to KILL Coach Jen's workouts as she was trying to get me to break 60 at the 2010 TC 10 Mile. Those are 2 BIG reasons why I just assumed I was faster in 2010.

I dug and I dug, and I think that last week was the FASTEST I've EVER done that workout!! Here are links to a few previous (relatively fast) 2x2 mile workout posts:

- First time with Coach Jen (flat by my parents farm) in 11:48 and 11:34.
- A year later in 11:26 and 11:38.
- PUSHING HENRY in the stroller in 11:36 and 11:37.
- Pushing bigger Henry in the stroller in 11:46 and 11:42.

So I didn't realize that last week's 11:38 and 11:24 were so good compared to previous workouts!

SIDENOTE: Here's cute 9-month-old Henry back in 2012 from one of the links above after we'd done our first 2 mile interval before starting the 2nd:

He loved the speed!

So last week I did them on the Greenway Trail, which is quite flat. Normally, I do them along the Mississippi River where I have a decent little hill either just before the end of each interval or just before the half-way point of each interval (depending on how I run them). So the 2nd time I did them (linked above) in 11:26 and 11:38 was actually probably faster than last week just based on the fact that I did those just a bit slower but while working in some small climbs too.

Still, pretty happy with that speed! I was NOT expecting that! Maybe stringing together some decent training weeks is starting to add up! (I've now had a swim, bike, or run 62 out of the last 65 days! That's looking back to February 11th!)