3+K fartlek (indoor 211m track)

I didn't get enough sleep last night, because I was up a bit late working on the family finances (we're considering buying a car from a friend to replace our 20-year-old Buick Century, and I wanted to see how that might work out). So I didn't feel so great when I got up, but as usual, a good hard racewalking workout made me feel much better. It still amazes me how much exercise improves my mood. I'd probably be in a psych ward by now if not for racewalking ;).

I chose the indoor track due to snow overnight. I probably could have walked on the street, as they weren't so bad, but the cold and dark were an additional deterrent. I guess I'm pretty tired of them by now. I was in the mood to walk in shorts, so I went to the field house at the U.

I warmed up with 8 laps on the 211m track, in 10:48, for 6:24/km with ave HR 141. I was feeling ready to go! I did a few dynamic flexibility drills and then started the 3K fartlek (3.165K fartlek, to be exact!).

I was faster than last week! Not on the first 1K, but on the subsequent kms. My endurance is just a little better, and I didn't feel I was tiring so much on the last 500m like I did last week. My recoveries were a bit better too, though my fast segments were slightly slower. I think I didn't push quite as hard - my ave HR was 159 vs 165 last week. I pushed to 90% instead of maybe 95% last week.

Here are my times (adjusted to 1K/500m in parentheses):
1055m fast 6:05.3 (5:46.3)
527.5m med 3:21.0 (3:10.6)
527.5m fast 3:04.9 (2:55.3)
527.5m med 3:23.8 (3:13.2)
527.5m fast 3:03.9 (2:54.3)
TOTAL 18:59.0 (17:59.7)

Hey, I even finished the equivalent of under 18 min for the 3K! Slow by my in-shape standards, but it is 22 seconds faster than last week. I'll take it. It's going to take a while for me to get back in shape, but at least I'm finally making progress and I'm feeling so much better.

Edited to add: I also got a kick out of passing several runners who were using the track :). I love passing runners! Of course, there were some fast runners passing me, too.