20 x Cut Shape

Time: ~78:00
Distance: ~11 miles

W/u: 20:38 for 2.68 miles
W/o: 20 x 400 in 65-66 (w/ 1 min jog recovery)
C/d: 17:11 for 2.06 miles (first mile barefoot)

Today's workout was rather interesting as I approached it with a bit of excitement. I love being on the track and running 400s is a natural part of the sport. Taking it back to SAT days, the 400 is to running as free throws are to basketball. I didn't get a great night's sleep before heading out the door which isn't a big problem because I usually sleep poorly before a big workout. However, I slept bad due to the heat of my apartment and not the anticipation of the track session. That could have been sign number one.

The jog over to the track with Scotty was uneventful. I ran a few strides before changing shoes to the Lunar Racers. I hit splits of:
66.59 (59), 68.31 (59), 66.12 (59), 69.89 (59),
67.36 (61), 66.07 (60), 67.08 (60), 68.14 (59),
68.19 (58), 67.51 (60), 70.33 (57), 70.18 (50),
69.11 (68), 70.20 (68), 69.55 (67), 65.20 (65),
67.56 (60), 70.81 (59), 67.00 (62), 64.32 for 41:52 total

This was rough. I knew after the first interval that I was going to struggle. I never felt relaxed running 66s and the 200m recovery was a bit much in the minute. I jogged for only 4 intervals and then I started taking a standing/walking rest for intervals 5-11. Once I was off the prescribed pace I got a little frustrated and my mind wandered. Scotty was out there cutting shapes in 70-71 so I joined him for intervals 12-17. I hammered my 16th in 65 which was decent since I made my move in the final 200 meters, but bad because it was back at the prescribed pace. Scotty hammered his 16th so I was able to run another sub-68.

After 17 I almost called the workout but I figured I could wrap up three more 400s. I got a little help from Scotty on the final two along the backstretch which was windy. The help brought the pace back to an honest level.

As I look at the splits now, I guess it wasn't awful, just not great. While running the workout I was flustered at not being able to hit what I thought was a reasonable workout. The last time I cut shapes was in early April during my lead up to the marathon. I averaged 68.20 for 16 intervals then and 67.98 for 20 intervals today. A slight improvement.