Wed Workout

Yo yo!

So on Wed we had our 2nd track workout. I got there a little earlier and recalibrated my Nike+iPod thingy... I ran exactly one lap in Lane 1 and then walked exactly one lap in Lane 1. Hopefully things will be more accurate since I calibrated the thing incorrectly when I first got it. Whoops!

So after the calibration, we did some strides back and forth to warm up. Then after that, we did a little "experiment"... our coach had read in Runner's World that you could predict your marathon score by how fast you run 4-6 sets of 800's (2 laps). For instance, if you run one set of these 2 laps in 4:35 minutes, you'll get a total marathon score of 4:35:00. He was very skeptical about this (cuz it seems too easy) but was also curious so we were his guinea pigs haha.

Anyways, here's how it works... you run 2 laps fast, but not all out (since you have to do 4-6 sets of them. And they should all be consistent. After you run one set of 800 (at let's say 4:35 min), you're supposed to cool down for the time that you just ran (so... 4:35 min cooldown)... then you run your 2nd set, then have a 2nd cooldown, 3rd set/cooldown, etc.

So here were my results for the 6 sets I did...
1.) 3:20 min
2.) 3:20 min
3.) 3:18 min
4.) 3:18 min
5.) 3:22 min
6.) 3:12 min (I went all out at the end)

I was pretty consistent. But I'm also skeptical too, cuz even if you take the lowest score (3:22 min), I don't know if I'll be able to run a 3:22:00 marathon. That's a 1/2 marathon in 1 hour, 41 minutes... I ran my practice 1/2 in 1:57:56, although really it was probably 1:50:00 or so... and there were a couple hills... hmmm, maybe it might be accurate. Or at least, close. But then again, just cuz you run a 1/2 in less than 2 hours doesn't mean you won't have a full marathon score over 4 hours. Cuz there's that whole thing with "the wall" and average pace is slower when running farther, etc.

I don't know-- we'll see. Anyways, my YouTube crush wasn't there again but it's all good cuz I'll see her Sunday hopefully.

---Andrew =)

Ooops, I also forgot to mention that I kept the Nike+ going even during the cooldown (cuz I needed to know what time it was to go back)... anyways, I didn't realized this until we were in the middle of the practice but that meant that my pace probably got messed up since I was just standing there or walking/cooling down while it was still going.