Luke/Steve - 8

Track workout! Had to drive to it since the 2 close tracks are both still off limits. The workout called for (400, 300, 200, 300)x4, plus another 400 at the end; 200 rest after the 400s, 300 rest after the 300s, 400 rest after the 200s. So 43234323432343234. We were shooting for 85, 60, and 35 seconds for each distance. The track we ran on was next to a baseball stadium called Swede Johnson Field, so this workout is now called the Swede Johnson.

Our times:

79 64 37 60

86 62 36 59

85 62 37 59

85 61 33 59

66 (85 for Steve)

I (Luke) led the first one and paced it terribly because it's been so long since I've done any track work. After that we settled down, and I think we finished pretty well. The last 400 was just an all-out one; I hit 66 and Steve was dying but managed to hit 85. It was really hot and really windy. On the cooldown I was about a foot away from being hit in the head with a baseball.

This was a fitting way for me (Steve) to end my stay in Eugene. It was probably the toughest track workout I have done in a few years. Since it was all active recovery between each interval, I had to really push myself to hit the prescribed times. The first 300 was always really tough for me because it came after a 400 with only 200 recovery. I had to fight the urge to slow down when it got really hard a few times. It helped tremendously that Luke was there to set the pace. I would usually have him run in the lead against the wind and then tell him jut out to lane 2 and I would finish strong. It was fun that he was pretty much able to run whatever pace I needed. Luke, you truly are an aerobic machine!

The time goals for this workout were a few seconds faster than the pace I usually do my track workouts in, but I was pretty satisfied with the results overall. I will definitely try out the Swede Johnson workout again. That last 400 really sucks. I wanted to die in the final 100.

In any case, I had a great time during my stay at Eugene. Luke was an excellent host. We ran nearly 8 miles for five consecutive days, easily the most amount of mileage I ever done in a 5-day period. We went to DoughCo three times, and almost a fourth time. I wanted to get it delivered at 3am on the day I was leaving, but was too tired after we stuffed our faces with an Indian buffet and some huge post-run smoothies. I hope to make it back again at some point. I can truly appeciate why Eugene is Tracktown, USA. So many great places to run. I feel much stronger aerobically and capable of achieving some huge PRs in the next month.