Metric Miles – Ladder Workout

So this morning, I pulled a workout off the shelf from last fall. This ladder workout is a tough one: 3000, 1500, 800, and 2 x 400. After each interval there is just a very small window of recovery time. So why is this such a tough workout? Well, the 3000 builds up so much lactic acid in the legs and the short recovery doesn’t give the body a chance to process the majority of this lactic acid out of the blood before the next interval starts. Creating the situation where the body is trying to run faster on legs that feel like lead. Just like what happens at the end of a race.

This is also a good workout that really appreciates company so I was delighted that Paul, Caleb, and Steve joined me for it. Just knowing they are pushing through the same thing helped me push through my tough spots.

The 3000 went by in 10:41. The 1500 was 5:17. I took a nap in the 800 with a time of 2:46. I finished off the workout with a couple of 400s each in 1:19s.

On my drive home, mentally, I was turning over this workout in comparison the same workout from Oct ’14. I guess what they say “time heal all wounds” is true. For whatever the reason, my fall workout seemed so much faster. After I got home, I pulled up Athleticore to look back at my notes from this workout.  I ran 3000 – 10:32, 1500 – 5:16, 800- 2:46, 400 - 1:19, 200 – 39.  

Aside from the 3000, my splits were just about right on with my fall workout. I have no explanation as to why the 3000 was slightly slower i.e. by 9 seconds. May be I just didn’t get out as fast. The one thing that I probably should have done is capture the individual laps. Having the individual splits would have told me where I was lost most of my time. For all I know, I could have just been a second or so slower each of the 7 ½ laps.

Still, I feel good about knocking down another quiality workout.

 

Sharing one thought at time,

The Cool Down Runner