Right, so I've been working without a coach for the last two months so I need some help winding down for indoor track. My first meet will be this coming Saturday (January 5th) and I'll be running unattached in the 2 mile.
How should I wind down my workouts to be at my best for this race? Obviously I'm not planning on having peaked for it but I'd like to use it to find out where I am. Last year I PR'd at 10:40 and 4:57 in the 1600/3200 (though I only ran each event 2-3 times). In XC, my times hovered just above 17:00, but this was because of mental strength issues as my track workouts were much better. I also ran a barely sub-28 5 mile about 5 weeks ago. In terms of track times trials, about 3 weeks ago I did a solo 3200 in 10:20 (5:05 first mile) on a hot and windy day.
Currently, my workouts are going really well. I started at the beginning of November doing about 7 miles a day (sometimes less but with a very long run) and now I'm doing at least 8 miles a day. Most of the runs are under 7 minutes miles though occasionally some are at that boundary or a bit easier but since I don't always bring my Garmin, I have to use my iPod clock and I'm not entirely sure of these times on those days. Best recent workout was probably a 12 mile run in 6:30 miles (as the long run for last week). Lots of the runs are fartlek type, but I'm not doing anything on the track at the moment. This is my second year of serious running. I started sophomore year, took the winter off, did track, had an injury and didn't run over the summer. Mid August I started up about 10-20mpw (my coach doesn't have us run much) and have been running since (though I picked it up in November).
I'd like to go under 10 (for a 2 mile race on a 200 meter indoor track) though I'm not sure whether this is feasible. I'd guess the winner would run a higher 9:30 or a lower 9:40, but I'm not sure.
I also just ordered new spikes (Nike Zoom Victory Elite) to use this season. This is an upgrade from the Saucony ld3 that I was running in last year.
Here's what I'd like help with, as I have no coach. Any specific workouts to do going up to the race? My spikes'll be here on Wednesday so I'll do something on the track then to get a feel for them. Also, splits to shoot for in the race itself. Should I got for a 4:55 and then try to hang on, etc.
Finally, any ideas of what to do long term? I'll have outdoor meets starting in Feb/March and championships in late April/May.
Thanks.