Choosing the lesser of two evils (track workout)

So PPC has advised forbidden me to go do track to do my faster workouts because maybe it is part of the reason of my ITB problem. I understand the logic and although it makes me super sad I do not complain. Ok, I complain but I do not run on track.

Unfortunately things have turned out not that great this week (PT appointment, swimming, nowhere to store my things while running in park etc. Too complicated to go into details so just take my word for it. It had no other choices.) and it was either I do my intervals on Monday in park, which would mean running on two consecutive days (and both of them intervals) or I do them on Tuesday on track.

I think that running on Monday could do more damage to my ITB than running for a few minutes on an oval so I chose the track. 

50min with 4x600m w/ 2min job btw. (I was supposed to do 65min, but I had to stay late at work and then had to rush to swim practice after running so I had time to do only 55. But I usually have to run to catch metro to work in mornings and I have already run yesterday and today, so two more days and I should have the remaining 15min covered:)

I warmed up for cca 23 min on soccer training fields (and no, I could not do my intervals there because that would without doubt lead to a broken ankle), stretched, did three strides and then did 4x600 alternating direction to minimize the curve effects.  Then cooled down for 10min on fields again. So I ran on track only for 9min and I am sure that it has not caused any damage. I will still avoid track in the future though.

2:19, 2:17, 2:15, 2:13. It was quite easy, except for the last 200, when I “had” to kick harder because I “had” to hit :13 to have consistent times…. Not my current 5k pace obviously but whatever. 

I know that I run on track faster than not on a track (but probably most people do, right) but maybe when I run often enough not on a track I will get used to not having the controlled track environment and I can improve my not track times and get closer to my track times.

So it was a good workout, I did not die, was able to hold a somehow respectable pace. But seriously, it was only 4 600s and with 2min jog btw, so it was not supposed to be hard anyway. We are easing into getting me back to running:) 1k repeats later this week. Now that I have 1k (plus minus 10m) measured I can actually time myself and see what I can do there, it should be harder. 

By the way, every morning this week so far I have been waking up and felt as if I did 9 rounds with Mike Tyson overnight. My arms hurt, my back hurts, my neck hurts. I have done 5 weeks of 15k of swimming in a row and this is my 6^th (wow, has it already been 6 weeks?!? Time flies. I wish I would see some improvement in water already…) and I think that I need a recovery week from swimming. I swam 5k yesterday in two sessions and went to the pool this morning and all I could do was flop around for 2k. Blah.