Week 15 - Day 3

The weather was amazing today. I had meant to do this track workout yesterday since Washington Lee was booked today, but it turns out it was booked yesterday as well, so I went ahead and did the plyo workout that day as scheduled. So, today I was very eager to get this workout in because it was going to be a good yardstick for me. I did the exact same workout around this time last year. But, I had to find a track first... After forgetting my keys at work and dealing figuring that out, I finally started a tour of DC to find a spot. My first stop was Cardozo...my old stomping grounds. Success! The facilities there are so nice now...beautiful turf field and nice new rubber track. I was so happy. Here's what I did.

Rest: 5 minutes
Format: rep - distance - target time (s) - actual time (s) - heartrate (bpm)

1 - 200m - 26 - 25.7 - 160
2 - 200m - 26 - 25.5 - 160
3 - 200m - 26 - 26.5 - 168
4 - 200m - 26 - 26.8 - 168
5 - 200m - 26 - 26.5 - 172
6 - 200m - 26 - 27.2 - 172
7 - 200m - 26 - 27.5 - 176
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This workout was supposed to be 9x200m, which was what I intended to do, but the soccer dudes cleared off the field promptly at 8pm and said they had to lock the gate behind them. Tough. So, I decided to run an 8th rep right then to end things out, even though I'd only rested for around 3 minutes by that point. Let me tell you, those extra 2 minutes really matter... I ended up running a 28.3 but didn't report it above - it was more of a spontaneous test to see what would happen. My legs were sapped down the homestretch and I felt like I jogged through the finish. I'm confident that had I run my last two with correct rest, I would have logged times in the low 27s/maybe high 26s. I got upset after running that 27.5 and wanted to get that one back. Anyway, I really wanted to get slightly more consistent times today, but this performance was a dramatic improvement from last year's. I really struggled with the 5 minutes rest and while I started out in the 26s, I slipped quickly and was running just over 30 by rep 6 or so. There were other factors at play last year, but still...it's always nice to see concrete improvement. I can't wait to run some full speed 200s. I really dialed it back during the first two reps today; I feel like I'll be able to hit some aggressive times going forward. Up up up!

Andrew