SPEED VS ENDURANCE (again)....
You guys are posting aLOT about this stuff lately!! i LUVE YOU GUYS. Im trying to remember if i was this obseessive
about it when i first started running......
#1) you will get naturally faster when you drop the weight. FOr those of you still quite a ways from goal (20+ pounds or more) you just have to trust me on this. it will come with NO effort the more weight you lose.
#2) FOr those of us runners who are not "technically" brand new runners, but still feel we are very slow...... You talk about should i work on endurance/distance right now, or should i focus on speed? "im going to wait till after such and such, and then focus on speed..." etc, etc......
IF youve been running long enough that your body is now used to running, even if you arent running much farther than like a 5K, or even a 10K----
You need to start focusing on both. Any training plan worth training with is going to incorporate the following---one day LONG run, one day SPEED/track workout. Do you see what im getting at here? Just like you cant hope to run a marathon overnight, you cant hope to be fast over night. It is the gradual build up, the PROGRESSION that enables you to run long. It is the same way with running faster (only faster takes ALOT longer to get than running long miles, in my opinion). I think ive said this before, but i will say it agian :
doing your weekly trackworkout or speed run is like putting pennies into a piggy bank. They arent worth much now, they wont be worht much next month, but OVER TIME, if you KEEP putting your pennies in there, they will payoff!
Lets say you guys have already started putting your pennies in now, but arent reaping the benefits you thought you may have seen by now......Then it is time to look at
the integrity of your speed work. Speed work makes you faster by increasing your VO2Max, and by increasing your lactic acid threshold and turnover rate. If you arent running your intervals at the
right pace for you (whether too fast
or too slow) and you arent doing your tempo runs at
just below YOUR PERSONAL LA threshold, or maybe you are resting too long in between intervals, or not doing them at the right distance...ETC ETC, thenyou have comprimised the
integrity of the speed workout, and you WONT see the benfits. Its different for everyone.
i hope that all didnt sound as harsh as it probaby does. I am trying to help
Here is a link that i think all of you need to check out. Its a running calculator. You are going to imput your BEST time for WHATEVER distance you want (whether one mile, or a 5K, or a marathon). Based on your PERSONAL BEST at that distance, its going to not ONLY give you projected finishing times at ALL other distances (taking into account natural slowing if it a longer race, or quicker paces for shorter distances) but more importantly, it will give you a breakdown of the EXACT pace you need to be running at for all SORTS of speedworkouts. If you are doing a LONG tempo run, it will tell you YOUR exact pace to get the most out of it. if you are doing 400 meter repeat intervals, it wil tell you exaclty what YOUR pace needs to be to get the most out of it. check it evryone...its a cool website!!
http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmil...calculator.htm
if you guys have any questions about how to interpret what it is telling you, just ask!! I d love to help!!!!
(SO- click the button next to the distance you want to use on it, THEN enter your best time for whatever distance you chose, THEN hit calculate)
FYI the calculator is pretty spot on for most of my times ive done so far. it DOES however, predict i can run a marathon in 3hr 39 minutes---which would qualify me for Boston by one minute. Too bad i havent been training this whole time to run it that fast!!! Im not going to change my game plan now, which is to run it at a 9 minute mile, which is what ive been practicing at for months. Next marathon i will trainin to qualify fo Boston.....