Track Tuesday Strikes Again

Today I got to do a small fartlek session to get some turnover in my legs after a comfy recovery week last week that had no workouts. Since I had a three-mile warm up I decided to warm up to legendary Ferry Field. 

At Ferry Field for a workout the week of the Owens Corning Half Marathon in April 2021.

This is the same track where Ohio State track star Jesse Owens set four world records in a matter of 35 minutes or so back in the 1930s. As a UM alumna, I have also learned that the plaque dedicated to his accomplishments that sits next to the track is the only one on campus anywhere to feature an Ohio State athlete or person. UM and OSU are one of the biggest rivals in college sports! Coming to work out here feels like a testament to the way in which running can bring people, and even rivals, together. A few years ago the University of Michigan Athletic Department had tentative plans to turn the storied track surface into a parking lot so that employees could have more available parking. Thankfully, that plan was scrapped and we still have the beautiful track with views of Michigan Stadium to the north and other great athletic fields and buildings, including the first ever Intramural Sports Building built in 1928, surrounding it. 

This is also the same track where Michigan legends such as Mason Ferlic, Nick Willis, and Hobbs Kessler train at the highest level under legendary UM coach Ron Warhurst. The Strava leaderboards for the 400m lap segment have some serious heat. 

The workout started out slowly as I was trying to manage the sun in my eyes running east as well as a slight cross breeze. I was lucky to get out the door before 8 a.m. to take advantage of the super cool morning with temperatures in the low 40s. For summertime in Michigan, that almost never happens, and my T-shirt came off after the second rep after I was fully warm. 

I was able to rep between 5:25 (per mile) pace and 5:47 pace to average 5:38 for the fast segments. That is roughly equivalent to a 6x300m workout with a two minute jog to recover in between sets. I also did this workout in trainers. I used to do all of my workouts in flats for a while until my coach said that it's better to run workouts out of flats so when the flats come back on it feels faster and easier. I can definitely vouch for this effect, as the workout I did during 5K race week earlier this month in flats felt super fast with my 150m strides coming in at under a 5 minute per mile pace. 

After the workout I ran back home, which is mostly uphill through downtown and the aptly named Water Hill neighborhood. I quickly showered and made myself an egg scramble to start the recovery process right away. 

I'm looking forward to getting out on some local trails tomorrow for eight recovery miles before tackling some mini hill sprints on Thursday.