tri-ac :: triathlete

To start the program, I found my pace numbers from the tables based on a 28:00 5K. This was a projection from my HIM half marathon time and was probably slow but not way off the mark.

Track, tempo & long days…those are the three Key Workouts. The plan has two other days of some other activity. Mine was going to be cycling.

Wednesday morning at the track, my first workout was scheduled to be: 10:00 warmup; 8×400 on 400 rest interval at 2:05/400; 10:00 cooldown. I arrived at the trackat 5:30 a.m. unsure of how things would go. There was little light on the track, and I couldn’t even see my watch for the splits. (I managed to brainfart on how to work the watch light.) I ran hard, but not so hard that I couldn’t finish. When I got near a lamppost, I saw the splits were nowhere near the right pace. I was hovering around 1:35/400. So, if I could go this fast for the requisite workout, shouldn’t I reset my 5K time from the tables?

I looked up the pace differences for the various distance runs based on a 1:35/400. That suggested a 21:40/5K; which suggested a long tempo run pace of 7:45/mi. Not there yet, my friends! Most of my longer runs to date had been 9:30/mi or higher.

So, I stuck with my 28:00/5K estimate.

Friday lunchtime tempo run: 1mi warmup; 2mi short tempo at 9:22/mi; & 1 mi cooldown. I was faster at 9:03/mi but figured it was a good start.

Sunday morning long run: 1 mi warmup; 3mi long tempo at 9:48/mi; 1 mi cooldown. Given my starting paces, I decided the long tempo run would be a 5K time trial since I didn’t really have a good time to rely on. This would set the bar for using the tables to follow the program. Drumroll! 26:27, which is  8:32/mi. Who’d a guessed? Here was real data to reset my paces! And, as I expected, not really that far from 28:00.