This Week's Speed Work

Monday night was a perfect night for running.  Temps were in the low 60's and the weather was gorgeous...except for a little wind! This week's speedwork was focused on improving our 5K performance. 

The first step of the workout was to break out into pairs based on pace.  The goal was to have a partner with a similar pace to you.  Lucky for me Anne and I are perfect for these types of workouts! The workout was then shared with us as follows:

2 x 800 at 5K pace
2 x 1200 at 5K pace
1 min rest
1 x 800 at all out
30 sec rest
1 x 400 at all out

The catch to this workout was that the first two sets were to be done as individuals.  So partner 1 would start with their first 800, partner 2 would start immediately as 1 finished.  The rest equaled the time that your partner was running for the initials 800's and 1200's.  At the end of the 2nd person's 2nd 1200, the pair got 1 minute rest and then completed the rest of the workout together.  The 2nd partner had a more challenging workout since they only got 1 minute rest after their last 1200 whereas partner 1 had more rest prior to that.  The all out efforts were done together instead of separate like the initial sets. 

The all out efforts were really tough to have at the end of the workout.  Anne and I managed to get down to a 1:52 for our final 400 and we were working hard for that final sprint.  I struggled with maintaining pace during the 1200s but was happy with my times for the workout.  I think I kept every 400 below 2:15 or a 9 minute pace so that definitely qualifies as a good workout for me since my 5K PR pace is around a 9-9:15 pace.