Early evening on the cinders I started out with very little confidence that I could accomplish a serious interval workout. My legs did not feel very strong, and I was feeling little nicks and pains in different parts of my body. But I decided to do normal routine. I ran 1000m, stretched and did three accelerations. I stripped down and started running 400m intervals with a two minute goal and a five minute takeoff time for each one. The first few were quite uncomfortable, but still came in close to two minutes with less than maximum effort. So, I continued, hoping to get in maybe five or even six. Things became a little more fluid and comfortable. I wound up doing seven, plus one very light one for number eight. I actually shortened the takeoff time to four minutes on the last few because I was recovering more quickly. The first seven were all under 2:10 with one actually coming in at 1:45, somehow. The total time for the whole set of eight was 34:00. It was a pleasant surprise.