Fartlek Workout

I ran a 27 minute fartlek (speed) workout last night and it was a blast. I was exhausted when I finished the run although I can see how fartlek training can help improve one's speed. The pace was pretty good too (I had an 8:18 minute/mile pace). Tonight I will do an easy, flat run.

The Goal: Getting Faster

Last night I ran for 3.77 miles (6K) using a hill training program I created on my treadmill. I finished in about 34 minutes which is pretty good considering the terrain was hilly. The goal tonight is a 30 minute interval run. To improve my speed, I will do a fartlek workout (fartlek is Swedish for "speed play" simply means to run fast and jog slower in intervals). Here's another sample fartlek workout from Runners-Resource.com.

Here's the fartlek workout I dreamed up:

Interval	Level	Speed (mph)	Time (min)
1	Easy	6.8	01:00.0
2	Hard	7.4	01:00.0
3	Easy	6.8	02:00.0
4	Hard	7.4	03:00.0
5	Easy	6.8	02:00.0
6	Hard	7.4	03:00.0
7	Easy	6.8	02:00.0
8	Hard	7.4	03:00.0
9	Easy	6.8	02:00.0
10	Hard	7.4	01:00.0
11	Easy	6.8	01:00.0
TOTAL			21:00.0

Speed Is Important

Last night's run: 3.16 miles with an 8:12 minute/mile pace. After Saturday's race, I was able to run over 3 miles quite easily. I felt a lot better after I completed the run. It made me think that I should have also run on Sunday. Well, tonight I will do a hill climb to help me get a little faster. My goal is to get in the 7-7.5 minute per mile pace by Spring 2009.

Hundred Push Up Challenge

I DID IT! In the presence of my daughter and son I completed the Hundred Push Up Challenge last night. On further review, my daughter revealed I actually did 102 push ups which provided more inspiration (my son miscounted along the way because he said I was going too fast.) After I completed my last push up, I feel flat on the floor and asked, "Did I do it?" Both of them said, "Yes, daddy." Man, that was the best news of the day. Then I told them, "Now I can not get up!" (My arms were too tired!) As I crawled off the ground, I looked at my daughter and said, "Next goal: 200 consecutive push ups." My daughter replied, "No way!" When I asked her why, she said, "You struggled too hard to do 100 push ups!" Okay, maybe 200 consecutive push ups is a little too optimistic. I think I'll go back to my regular routine of 200 push ups in 20 minutes.

My First Race

On Saturday, October 25, 2008 I completed my first run, Run Forest Run, which was held at Izaak Walton Nature Preserve in Homewood, IL. I finished the 4 mile race with a 7:57 minute/mile pace - something I did expect at all. This was probably the toughest run I ever experienced because it was a trail run, i.e., we ran on rocks, grass, dirt, mud, etc. I kind of expected a difficult run because of the terrain. However I did not want to back out of the race, so I just ignored the conditions and kept my legs moving. About half-way through, I had to pray for strength - I was about to run out of gas. I had mad the terrible mistake of starting the run way too face - hence a brief struggle to finish.

I will definitely run this race again and I am already entered in next year's race. Now that I have race experience, I know what to expect the next time I run. I will try not to start too fast!