Today was my first day training for the Parkersburg Half Marathon slated for mid-August.

Though I have trained for and completed a LOT of half marathons, I usually adjust the training schedule to fit my personality. I don’t really like doing speed workouts, so I usually replace them with something less challenging. Because one of my goals is to get faster, I plan to include speed workouts in future schedules.

The scheduled workout was 8 X 400 with 2 min rest between each. I recently learned that the local high school track is frequently open for public use, and since lane 1 is 400 meters, I thought it would be worth trying to do these workouts on the track.

I walked to the high school for my warm up, but my shins did not really get warmed up enough. My first lap my shins burned. Though speed was the main purpose, I did try to remember to use proper racewalking form and to push my arms back.

I completed eight laps ranging from 3:02 (the last lap) to 3:09. Not too bad for my first time. The only problem is, doing these types of laps is extremely boring! And this school’s track is in such bad shape, it has not hosted a home track meet in two years. (I think that is why the track is open to the public.)

Though it was boring, I know these types of training days are important to be able to build speed. Maybe on future days I can talk some of my Buckeye Strider friends into joining me.

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