3x400

Today I did my full warm up which I've gotten really used to. Now just about every day I do some form of stretching or form drills or both and I'm seeing a lot of improvements. I definitely have better range of motion and on Sunday and Monday I ran barefoot for my entire run, which I can comfortably do on roads now, and I feel a different sensation when I run.

I feel my foot striking and then snapping back up and there's kind of a floating sensation that accompanies it. I've been taking the advice of Coach Carl Lewis and really focusing on putting my foot down and I'm definitely starting to see the benefits. When I've seen video of myself running, it kind of looks to me like I'm running into the ground. Or I'm sitting back and the energy isn't being transferred. That's really vague. But what I'm feeling is a snappiness and a pop in my stride that I can't remember ever feeling before. So that's really exciting.

Anyway, the workout was a final tune-up before my 800 time trial on Friday and I felt really good about it. By the end of the warm up my legs were feeling good. I did 3 400s, with the goal of running faster on each one and finishing with a sub 60. In my head I thought I might go 66, 62, 59. Something like that.

What I did was 64, 61, 61. So the first and 2nd reps were faster than I anticipated and the 3rd one was a little slow. But it was a little windy so I'm not going to beat myself up too bad about that. And I know that I gave it everything I had. I was completely tying up at the end of the last one. The rest was about 4 minutes after the first one and then 5:30 after the second one. 

I felt pretty done by the end and that's all I needed to do before the 800. I like being in a space where I can confidently run a fast 400. Like I've done enough now that I know what it feels like and I know I'm going to make it to the finish so I look forward to running fast instead of dreading it.

Last year I was doing similar workouts. Except double or triple the length and I was feeling REALLY fit. The mistake I made though was getting hurt and basically ruining my summer. I would much rather have a slightly less impressive Spring and then a great summer.

I think it's basically a given that I will miss some days of running due to my job which will have me leading overnight trips but I think as long as I'm healthy I can still get in some quality efforts on my off days and the extra rest will probably benefit me as it's been a while since I've taken a real break from running. 

I have some good speed again, my strength is still really good, I'm stronger and more resilient than before. I really think I can do something special. I have more tools than ever before and I'm really excited about the future.