Instead of trekking down to the ball fields of Nolensville for speed, Joe & I have been doing it on our own in our own 'hood. I'm not talking 200s, 400s, or 1600s. I'm not measuring anything at 5:00-5:30am. I'm talking a mile warm up & then short bursts of speed to the point where I my lungs burn. "Runners World" actually had an article about this type of "speed work". It's Basically just fartlek or interval training. I focus on a target to run to as fast as I can & then sometimes I take a short walk break, sometimes not... I'm not "structuring" anything at 5:00-5:30am either. ;-P
Do I think it's helping me? Any form of speed work will help me rather than none at all.
This morning I did 4.05 miles with the middle full of intervals. I'm currently reading, "The Art of Running Faster". I've come to realize that for NYC, I did the hill training to the point to where it injured me. I also didn't vary much on my training at all. Just logging mile after mile after mile which of course built endurance but it doesn't do much else. I just started the chapter that introduces the 5s of training: speed, suppleness, strength, stamina, & skill.
Strength: If there's anything I learned last year, it's that my body missed the gym. I've gleaned some strength just doing various Jillian Michael's dvds but I need to vary my strength training up more. I never had IT Band problems when I did weight machines consistently.
Speed: Like I described above...& of course, I'm attempting a tempo run every Wed evening with the NRC no matter how hot it gets. In 2006, I did at least one tempo run of 6 miles a week with Mike, Carla, Chris, Wayne, etc.... It's time to be pushed….AGAIN!
Suppleness: I've got that down big time. I stretch after I run & of course I do yoga. It's all about being loose during your run & keeping your body from getting tight, which leads to fatigue & injury.
Stamina: There are days where I feel like I could run for days. Those days are usually the days when it's below 50 degrees but not freezing, I'm fueled properly & not sleep deprived. Stamina is basically base building. (Remember the 10% rule if you're new to marathon training or you'll risk injury.)
Skill: Skill is tied to form & training in the correct form. Much like learning to swim, you're going to swim a lot better if you're using the correct form. This will always be a work in progress for me because of my poor posture. Even while running on Saturday, I tried my best to watch my form even as I slowed down the last 3 miles. I have not forgotten everything I learned from the "Chi Running" book I read several years ago. ;-P My form should be a whole lot better than it was since I don't have as much weight wearing my body down. I'm hoping "lighter translates to faster" for me.
Another point that is touched on in the book is "Twice a day workouts". It doesn't hurt to throw a day in your week to run twice in one day. It doesn't hurt at all to do yoga in the morning & your run in the evening or vice versa. Fitting in short workouts twice a day is better than cutting something you like doing totally out. We all work & we all have families, but in the end it's all in what you can fit in & what you want to do. I have a husband, a job, & two step kids. There are times where we have to move stuff around or get up at the butt crack of dawn to get our runs in but it's a choice. We love running so we happily make that choice. We also really enjoy the run club we belong to & that keeps us motivated.
So, even though I ran this morning, I'm going to my gym to ride a bike (loosen my legs) & let my personal trainer help me strengthen my weak spots. (After my PT sessions end, I am going to keep those exercises on the "menu".) Whether this helps me or not on Oct 7th, who knows but it sure can't hurt.
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