Yesterday Daniel and I met at Green Lake for a brisk three mile run and some 400m intervals at the adjacent track at Woodland Park. I really enjoy running with other people - I have not yet connected in Seattle with other runners, which seems odd since the sport is so popular here, but nevertheless I do like the company of others when putting in a hard workout.
We ran our 3 miles at 24:23, pretty darn brisk for me. Then, we decided to start with 4×400m intervals on the track with a cool down lap in between each one. I have not yet reached a point where a 30 second to one minute cooldown leaves me with enough energy for another dash. My goal was to finish each one in less than 1:40; Daniel’s goal was 1:20. Here’s how they went:
400m - 1:28 (I was already hurting here), then 2:47 cooldown
400m - 1:38, then 2:51 cooldown
400m - 1:38, then 3:22 cooldown (getting tired)
400m - 1:36, then 5:30 cooldown (800m slowly)
It was a great workout that left me feeling exhausted and sore, telling me that I need to be in better shape and that speed work is crucial to better race performance. Plus, it gives me an excuse to hang out with one of my pals on a sunny, beautiful day!
I’m strongly considering training for the Portland Marathon on October 1st, but I don’t have my work/call schedule for next year yet. For all I know they have placed me on call for September 30th and post-call on October 1st, but if the weekend is free I might go for it. 
Hi there,
A new blogger from Ireland here, although I have been around Kick/Cool Running and the like for many years. I’ve joined the RBF and presently reading through intersting blogs. Enjoyed yours, and the trails of the winter, and now onto spring and potential marathons.
Although I live in Ireland, I have run many of my marathons in the US, and Portland is one on my list for the future as it has always struck me as a well organised, well supported race. I’ll be following your progress and hope you can make it.
Comment by Liam — April 13, 2006 @ 1:36 am
Great runs, you are going to kick arse at your next race!
Comment by Kurt — April 13, 2006 @ 6:17 am