8K fartlek

I was pretty worried about working out hard today with all the GI trouble I've been having. But I got lucky :). Things are feeling fine so far today (hopefully they will stay that way!). It's possible that it might be from the antibiotics I've been taking for my toenail problem, but it also could just be a bug or something I ate.

It was actually a nice morning. Chilly, but not too bad. About 38F (3.3C) and sunny (OK, well I started before the sun was up, but it was clear) with a strong breeze. I was a bit cold for the first 15 min or so, but then I was fine, even with the breeze. I walked 2k to Liberty Park for a warm-up, and then started the fartlek. I felt fast on the first 1K, and I was (5:39!) and wondered if I would be able to stay fast. I was to do 1K hard, then alternating 500 medium/500m hard for 7x to make 8K. By the third one, I really wondered if my legs would hold up...but then I started to feel a bit better, and was able to hold the pace well until the last two, when I did slow down a little (but not for want of effort!). Part of that may be that I brought my dog Copper with me, and she got a bit tired so I was pulling her a little bit (not too much, but enough to account for a few seconds).

Here's a summary of my times & ave/max HR:
2k w/u (downhill) 13:16, 138 ave HR
1- 1K hard 5:39, 155/164
2- 500m med 3:13 153/165
500m hard 2:55 163/167
3- 500m med 3:25 155/167
500m hard 2:53 162/168
4- 500m med 3:19 153/168
500m hard 2:50 164/169
5- 500m med 3:31 156/169
500m hard 2:57 166/169
6- 500m med 3:24 156/169
500m hard 2:53 162/168
7- 500m med 3:34 154/168
500m hard 3:01 164/168
8- 500m med 3:31 152/168
500m hard 2:57 162/168
2k c/d (uphill) 16:35, 138 ave HR

A few more things of note re: time. My 5K fartlek was 30:42.4. My 8K fartlek was 49:57.3, almost as fast as my 5-mile (8K) race on March 21 in Canyonlands, when I was pushing pretty hard the whole time. Finally, my time through 10K (including 2k warm-up) was 1:03:13. My best guess is that I'm in shape for a 61:00 10K, which isn't where I want to be yet. My PR is 58:43 and I know I have that in me again. But it may take a while to get there.

My legs were pretty trashed when I was done, but I guess that's as it should be. My left foot ached slightly for the last 4 km of the workout (fartlek km 7 & 8 plus c/d), but it feels fine now. My right foot started to hurt about mid-morning, while at work, on the lateral side near the heel. I hope it's nothing...I could not STAND IT if I was injured again. It's probably nothing...I hope. It's only bugging me while I walk and it's not too bad, so who knows. If it hurts when I get home I'll ice it and see how it is in the morning.

This was a hard workout, but I still feel really good from it, even 6 hr later!