Speeding Things Up

Every week on #NRC the running plan consists of 5 runs: 2-3 recovery, 1-2 speed, and 1 long run. They say that if you're not going to do all of the runs, then do at least 1 recovery, 1 speed, and the long run each week. I used to abide by this. Honestly, it was hard for me to ever want to choose a recovery run when I had a speed run option. However, you'll probably notice that every run I've done since beginning training has been recovery or long, no speed work here!

For the longest time, I LOVED speed runs. Running fast is fun. While you're still having to pace yourself, you're pacing yourself at more intense efforts. Sometimes you get to sprint, sometimes you're running at 5K or mile pace. Either way, you're running a lot faster than your typical recovery or long run. You also (usually) get walking recoveries, typically between 30-120 seconds between intervals. This is incredibly motivating as you always know that a break is around the corner.

However, I haven't been focusing on speed runs lately for a number of reasons. One, because I'm only choosing to do 3 runs a week, I want to get more mileage in. Most of the time, speed runs are going to be shorter given the heightened intensity and given that you walk throughout, you aren't covering as many miles. Two, I found myself using a speed run as a cop-out sometimes. If there were long recovery runs that I wasn't in the mood for, I'd just opt for the quicker speed run. Three, I get migraines generally triggered by intense workouts and speed runs fit that criteria. While it's not 100% correlated, it still deters me to choose a speed run. And, lastly, while I absolutely think speed runs are a critical component of training, it's just not my priority right now.

I do want to be able to run faster. I used to only care about pace and, as I've mentioned several times, was glued to my watch while running. However, I care a lot more during shorter races. If I were training for a 5 or 10K, I'd prioritize more because I know I could significantly improve my time. Even for my next Half Marathon I will focus on speed runs as I do have a PR goal I'm trying to hit (just need to cut 4 minutes off my time). But, with the marathon, I just want to feel good running it.

However, I decided to change my ways once again. The past few days had been very athletic with the 10 miles on Saturday and a gym workout on Sunday. By Monday, I was already tired. I almost didn't go for a run, but I'm a spaz about getting my steps in and realized I hadn't hit them yet. I got ready to go on a walk when I realized I might as well just run. Running = steps done quicker = more time to lay. This weeks recovery runs are a little longer, 35 and 45 minutes and I know I said I like to opt for the longer runs, but it's just not what I needed.

I saw there was a 28-minute tempo run. Now, this is different than a typical speed run. Instead of experimenting with different paces at different intervals and then walking, this was a 7-minute warm up followed by a quick break before getting into 20-minutes of tempo running. For this particular run, tempo pace meant your 6-7 effort. Typically, you run your recovery runs at around a 5 effort. A 10 is an all out sprint, and 8-9 is closer to your fastest mile pace. This pace is right between what you could run for a 10K or a 60-minute run.

I really enjoyed this. I started the warm up at around a 10:10 pace, which is technically too fast but I was outside and the energy on a nice night in NY in too good. When we got into the tempo run, I didn't look at my watch and just ran. I felt fast. While I didn't know how fast I was going, I could clearly tell that I was running faster than I have been lately. I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to maintain whatever this pace was for the duration of the run. However, it appears I could. I ran down the East Side Highway, by the Statute of Liberty, and over to the West Side. At halfway, I turned around and came back toward home. I'll be honest, when I finished I did have to stand there with my hands on my knees. I haven't run ~2ish miles at that pace in a very long time. I also didn't expect myself to be doing that run that day. But, it felt good. The actual pace I ran isn't entirely clear on my Garmin because of the 7-minute warm up, but I ran the second mile at a 9:08 pace and the next 7 minutes at a 8:38 pace. The other 4 minutes are built into my first mile. Overall, pretty successful.

Run #25: Monday, August 11: 28-Minute Tempo Run - 2.80 Miles 9:36 Pace