1500m Countdown: 4 days!! - and workouts

Yikes! I still can't believe I let my husband talk me into this.....but the 1500m training continues.

It's really, really hard.



Saturday we drove up to Oshkosh, WI for USATF youth regionals. On the way up we stopped at a UW track so that hubs and I could get a workout in.

By that time it was 95 degrees out!

I did an 800m warm up, then geared myself up for 3 x 400m, and 3 x 200m intervals. Rest in between each intervals was 2 1/2 minutes, and may have included walking through the sprinklers that were going on the field.

His goal for me was 90 sec 400's and 40 sec 200's. But I went out way too fast on the first 400, and then the rest of the workout really, really hurt.

1st 400 - 1:21
2nd 400 - 1:25
3rd 400 - 1:28

1st 200 - 40 sec
2nd 200 - 41 sec
3rd 200 - 38 sec

800m cooldown

Sunday was a rest day, or as much rest as one can get watching your kid meet his goals at a track meet! He wanted to break 6 in the 1500m and 3 in the 800m. He ran the 1500m in 5:58.64, and just missed his 800m goal, running 3:02.02. Did I mention he is 7 (almost 8)? I am in awe. And now I have officially no chance of beating his time in the 1500!

Monday was tough. I woke up and hit the track and it was much cooler than it has been. The workout was 3 x 800m - hubs said to start out around 3:15 and get faster, trying to do the last one in 3:00. Ummm...not happening.

I warmed up with a slow mile.

1st 800 - 3:13, and it was tough. Recover 4 minutes.
2nd 800 - 3:12 - not really any faster. And then the cheerleaders enter the field for practice which messed with my head a little. Recover 4 minutes.
3rd 800 1st 400 - my legs were already feeling tired, so I told myself, just run it as hard as you can, if you can't make the time, that's ok. I made the mistake of looking at my watch at the 400m mark and I was at a 6:30 mile pace. I knew there was no way I would make up the time and I did what I hate doing - I quit. 1:40
Recover 4 minutes
3rd 800 2nd 400 - determined to finish the workout, I went out for the final 800m I came around to the 400 line, and just couldn't force myself to go around that corner one more time. 1:35.

Super annoyed, I switched out of my spikes and ran around the campus for a cool down mile. As I came back to the track, the cheerleaders were leaving. I hate not finishing what I started, so I lined up, determined to finish this last 800m. I was mad by this point!! This effing 800m, you're not going to break me! I WILL run this before I let myself leave this track.

3rd 800 - 3:18. It wasn't pretty, and it wasn't my goal, but at least I finished what I started. I can say that I gave it all I had. I have to learn to let that be good enough, for now.

And, yes, those 800m's were hard. I'm kind of shitting my pants about this 1500m. I have just got to hold back a little the first two laps to make sure I can finish it.