Went to the trach at the local community college to do speed work today. I got to the track after church, about 11:30. No one was there and I was happy to see one corner of the track was under shade. Looks like the school doesn't use the track for running anymore but they use the field in the center for soccer. I could tell its not used for running because part of the lanes are covered by the field grass. There is also benches set up right on the straight away. Still plenty of room for running though.
The surface of the track is nice and rubbery. Felt good on my feet and legs. I did a warm up then chose to do one lap at 8:40 pace. I picked up the pace for my speed lap and was surprised by the pace I saw on my watch. My speed was in the high 7's and low 8's. Couldn't believe I was running that fast. I guessed the track was bouncing back allowing my pace to be faster. I did 2 quarter mile speed laps with a recovery inbetween. Then I did 1 half mile speed run trying to keep my pace around 8:40. After another recovery lap I did 1 more quarter mile lap of speedwork. After that I finished out to 5 miles just toying with my pace to see if I could judge my speed. I was pretty accurate at guessing my 10:30 and 9:30 pace.
Can't wait to do this again next Sunday. I'm hoping I can get more 1/2 mile laps in and work my way up to a complet mile at 8:40 ... We'll see :)
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