5K fartlek

I was a bit nervous as to how this would go, since my hamstrings have been a little sore and I'm working on my technique. But it went OK.

I decided to do this one at the track for accuracy, after watching Dave and Erin do their 8K fartlek at the track the other day. I warmed up for 1600m and did my dynamic flexibility drills. Everything felt pretty good, with just a little soreness in my right hamstrings and in both my glutes from the weight training. That helps, though, because then it's easier to feel when I'm using them!

I started out and did the first 1K in 5:38, just like on Friday. Hmmm, maybe this wasn't going to be so good. Then I did the recovery in 3:10 and the next hard 500m in 2:51, and thought maybe it would be OK. It was hard to concentrate on using my glutes for the first 3K or so. The next recovery was a slooow 3:19, followed by a 2:52 500m. I think my leg speed is OK, but my aerobic capacity has suffered from time off. Oh well. Still, I got through the first 3K in 17:50, which is faster than on Friday!

The 4th and 5th km I finally felt like I was using my glutes more, but I also slowed down; I think that was because I was starting to feel pretty winded. The recovery to start the 4th km was 3:15 (not bad) and then the next 500m fast was another 2:51 :). But the last km was not as good, with a 3:14 recovery (that was OK) and a 2:55 fast 500m, which showed my fatigue a bit, because I was really pushing at the end. Total time: 30:08. Not the fastest, but not bad either considering the layoff. I'm actually hopeful that my times will be much better this fall with an increase in my iron levels. I'm not there yet, but I think things will improve.

Ave HR for the workout was 165, and max 172. Garmin data here.

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I still managed to bike uphill to work after that workout. My glutes were tired, but I made it just fine. It actually felt pretty good to bike.