SlimCache

Last night was a bit of a treat. Eric mentioned wanting to go to the track at Thornton Academy in Saco for some track work. I've never gone through this kind of workout and really had no idea what to expect. I know my running program has lacked any type of formality and structure thus far and that's something I plan to work on in '09. I got my feet wet by playing around on the track last night and found out the hard way that maybe I need to learn more about my pacing and that this type of work could be beneficial in a number of ways.

I arrived early, as was my intention, and started with a few laps. The sun was going down and I really hoped there would be more light on the field but it was pretty interesting running out here in the dark anyway so I didn't mind. I got in about 5 laps before Eric showed up to commence with the pain.

We ended up doing 1x300m, 3x200m, and 2x100m. I didn't clock the 300m but my times on the 200m were 46 sec, 43 sec, and 48 sec. My times on the 100m were 21 and 20. Sorry I didn't make note of the fractions of seconds but my watch doesn't actually record the splits as it does heart rate information. Anyway, I ended up burning out. At one point I attempted a 400 but petered at about 150m.

In doing a bit more research I found my problem. I used The McMillan Running Calculator and, after inputting my best 5K time, found that I had gone out way faster than I was ready to at this point. 43 seconds for 200m? Yeah, I shoulda been doing more like, 56.9 seconds tops. Using this calculator however I have a much clearer idea in mind for what to shoot for next time. The tool is really quite handy. I'll spend more time researching the right information next time around rather than just winging it. I think I've said that before though.

Average heart rate : 138 bpm Maximum heart rate : 180 bpm Percentage of cals burned from fat : 50% Kcals burned : 584