2x2K, 4x500

The weather was NOT cooperating this morning. It was cold for April at 33F (1C) and snowing moderately. It wasn't sticking to the road, but mentally I have been so tired of dealing with the icky weather, and I really don't like snow/rain in my face. OK, that's wimpy, but it was how I was feeling this morning. The weather says we've had the usual precipitation for the whole month already, and it's only April 9th. So I'm not imagining things when I'm whining about the weather.

I chatted with my friend Erin on FB and she was encouraging, and we agreed I should just suck it up and get out there, so I did.

I was NOT in the mood for the track, plus I was worried the snow might be sticking there since it's a higher elevation. So I did my workout on 800E, which is mostly flat but does go down gradually from 2100S to 900S, which was my first 2K. I did the first 2K in 11:25, which was awesome. That's a good time when I'm in shape (and I'm not in good shape quite yet), so I was pleased. Of course, that was the slight downhill. Then I was hoping for 11:30 for the 2nd, but didn't have it in me on that slight uphill back, and I finished in 11:38, which is still decent given my current conditioning, but not really that good. However, my HR during my 4 min recovery after each 2K was good - it got down to just below 120, which I was very pleased with. I wondered how the 500s would go. The first one felt fast and surprisingly easy after the 2Ks - it was actually almost fun, and I finished in a very fast 2:45 (slight downhill, but still nice!). The second one was even faster in 2:42! Then I got a bit tired, and the third was 2:48. Finally, the last one was a slight uphill, and apparently a tad longer (0.32 mi vs 0.31 for the others when I uploaded it on plus3) so I'm OK w/the slower time of 2:55 - I was really working it.

The times were good, though not spectacular. I am happiest, however, about my HR recoveries in between intervals. Last week for my 2K/1K/2x500 my HR was only recovering to 130 by the end of the workout. Today, it was down to 120 or less every single time, even on the 500s, which I only had 2 min rest for. Yay! Now THAT is progress I can see! I'm actually encouraged that things are moving in the right direction. I needed a good workout to feel a bit better.

Hopefully I didn't work too hard today, though - I have 20K to do tomorrow. I told myself to keep my HR in the upper 160s but couldn't help pushing a little harder and it was in the low 170s at the end of every interval. I'm hoping that won't hurt too much tomorrow. I think some Pilates and/or stretching might be in order.

Foot update: I forgot to post about it yesterday after the 12K, but it was doing OK. It was maybe a bit warmish during the 12K but not bad, and later in the day it felt like I needed ice, so I did manage to ice it about 3-4 times yesterday. Today it was a bit sore when I woke, but I really worked on concentrating on my technique during the workout, and it felt fine during and immediately after. I'm icing it now, but the real test is usually how it feels later in the day. I think it's going to feel all right though. Still, I'm taking naproxen (Aleve) and icing, etc.

Garmin connect data here.