Wednesday, October 3, 2007

A Running Experiment


The Plan:
Run "Fast" for a mile (think 5K pace), being careful not to go out too fast and burn out. Walk a quarter mile. Run "Fast" for a quarter mile trying to duplicate the pace from the first mile. Walk a quarter mile. Run "FastFast" for the final quarter mile.
The Results:
Not bad! First mile average was 9:56min/mi, and I did a reasonable job guarding against going out too fast. First quarter mile was 9:49 - pretty good pace match. Final quarter mile was 8:38. For me, that is really good.
(Note: Pay no attention to that little leftover .01 mile, I just didn't hit my stop button on time!!)
The Purpose:
I have done a lot of long slow runs and hadn't done anything resembling speedwork for months. I wanted to reassure myself that I can, in fact, pull off something faster than an 11:30 if I really try. I also wanted to see if I could replicate a pace by feel. Finally, I wanted to see how fast I could run (all out) for a short distance.
The Conclusion:
I think it was a success. I might try this again in a few weeks.

13 comments:

  1. experimenting with running is wonderful! I love it!

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  2. Nice workout. Speedwork gives you such a feeling of satisfation when you are done.

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  3. We can't call you "slow and steady" if you are going to be "speedy and steady".

    Great job!

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  4. Sounds great...isn't it fun to change things up sometimes. And, I agree that we can't call you "slow and steady" anymore.

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  5. How complicated! But beneficial - and will build your confidence in yourself too :)

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  6. A good friend always tells me, every run has something to teach/tell me. Seems you can do better than 11:30 :) I love to see the numbers go down when I do a litle shorter run and can push it a little. Great speed work!

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  7. Oh - I love "fun" runs where you experiment like thAT! Great job! :O)

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  8. Ahh, speedwork, I really don't like it, it hurts to much..

    Also do some hill work, it will make you faster as well.. Give you leg strength..

    Great job on the speedwork...

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  9. Oh, how true LBTEPA! My speedwork has boosted my confidence so much. Incorporate 1 day a week of some time of speedwork into your plan, and you won't be disappointed. There are so many to choose from... Fartleks, negative splits, tempo runs, intervals, repeats... blah, blah...

    Plus it spices things up a bit...

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  10. Nice job, soon you'll have to change your blog name again- catchin' bunnies, with speed like that!

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  11. As slow as I am right now, I do remember running fast and how much I liked it. One thing you can do a couple of times a week that helps is run easy for 3 minutes, then pick up the pace and do a hard 90 seconds, resting 90 seconds, etc. for 20-25 minutes, and do a 3 min. cooldown. Then you're done. That is something you can do when you are pressed for time too, because while it is short, it has its intensity. And this is something easy enough to do on the treadmill if you have to do that. Then once a month, do a mile pace check, similar to what you did in your workout. I know, I need to work on this more myself!

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  12. A great idea and very well done! A little bit of speedwork will make all of your other runs just a little bit easier and make your races that much faster. You don't need a lot of it, especially early on, but it will make you a much stronger runner.

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  13. Nice job keeping up the running. And great race from last weekend!

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