speed work

Effort based speed work

January 2, 2012 by Kristy 24 Comments

Boston training started off with a bang – mile repeats. My nemesis. I knew this was coming. I’ve used the FIRST training plan for my last 2 marathons and I always start with mile repeats. I was nervous. I was worried. I always think that I can’t do it. Speed work makes me feel insecure and a little nutty.

On top of my nervousness, I checked the weather last night and saw 20mph winds. Perfect. I woke up a 4:30 this morning and could hear the trashcans blowing around my street. By 7:00 I was at the track (bonus – I guess the wind scared everyone away because I had the track to myself!).

My training plan called for 3×1-mile repeats at 7:02 pace. The good news is that I only had to do 3 of them. The bad news is that I had to do them fast. Currently, 7:02 pace is pretty much all-out for me…considering I have yet to bang out a 21:xx 5K time.

I decided to do things a little different and NOT look at my Garmin during the repeats. Effort-wise I knew what a 7:02 pace entailed: I would be in the “no talk” zone and my breathing would be labored and quick. I don’t need a Garmin to confirm that feeling!

1st repeat: 7:10
2nd repeat: 7:08
3rd repeat: 7:11

Overall, not too bad considering the wind! They weren’t 7:02 pace but at least they were consistent. Even though my legs felt tired on the last repeat I kept my effort level up (judged by my labored breathing). I can 100% guarantee that if I went by my Garmin I would have (1) ran slower and (2) would not have been as consistent.

Another perk to ditching the Garmin during speed work? I hate when it’s still dark and I have to constantly keep checking (and lighting up) my Garmin to see if I’m on track. It’s such a waste of energy.

Day 1 done and I’m pretty damn pleased!

Off to enjoy my last day of vacation. I’m not so pleased about that 🙁

'Tis The Season

December 14, 2011 by Kristy 18 Comments

Last week it was in the 60s and I was running in shorts. This week, treadmill running made an appearance.

Don’t get me wrong, nothing is better than running outside. Nothing. I have no idea how (or why) people run on a treadmill year round.

I can’t complain – my treadmill is in my basement in front of a large TV. I can watch any show or movie I want with the volume jacked all the way up. This helps…but not all the time. Some days I just can’t bring myself to run on it.

This week I’ve been pretty busy at work and had to get in early (7:30ish). I’ve opted for treadmill runs on both Monday and Tuesday. I do have certain runs that I can do on the treadmill and certain runs I refuse to do on a treadmill. It’s very scientific…

YES
– easy runs of no more than 4-5 miles
– speed work

HELL NO
– long runs
– tempo runs
– longer easy runs

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I could never train for a distance race solely using the treadmill. It’s just too easy. You never learn to pace yourself, deal with varying weather conditions and terrain, and run downhill. You reap so many more benefits by running outside.

Treadmill – yay or nay?

If you use a treadmill are there certain runs you refuse to do on it?

Smile

November 1, 2011 by Kristy 18 Comments

11/1/11
7 miles
*6 x 800m at 1oK pace (7:30 pace)

Things that are making me smile today…

1. An unoccupied track this morning! Last week there was a team there practicing at 6:30AM. Totally foiled my plans.

2. A great Halloween with Matt and Hawk.

3. Leftover Halloween candy

4. The Philly Half Marathon is 20 days away. I’m itching to race again!

5. Fall weather! Rumor has it by the middle of the week it’ll be back in the high 50s/low 60s. No more snow!

What’s your favorite Halloween candy? I would have to say Reese’s cups are the best. And 3 Musketeers bars.

How much candy did you eat? We only had 1 trick-or-treater (unreal!) and a bag of candy leftover. You do the math…

Adjustments

October 25, 2011 by Kristy 8 Comments

10/25/11
7 miles
*Pseudo speed work. I went to the track this morning and it was occupied…at 6:30AM?!?!? Peeved, I drove home and attempted a speed workout on my usual paved bike path. I managed 3 x 1-mile repeats at HM pace. I can’t do speed work without a track. I need to be able to count down the laps!

Last night I went to the chiropractor for the first time.

Remember how I raced the Philly RnR Half the week after my marathon and got all sorts of tightness in my right hamstring? Well, it’s still there. It comes and goes. The 2 weeks of rest I took helped but my right hamstring, hip, and glute just feel off. Hard to explain. I’m not in pain; my right side just feels abnormal compared to my left. The tightness is directly proportional to how fast I run. The faster I run, the tighter my hammie gets (I’ve been conscious of my overstriding too). Since I’m not in pain, I’ve been running but I’m keeping my overall mileage low and not doing all-out speed work. And I’ve been icing, foam rolling, and yoga-ing.

I decided that I want to nip this in the bud before it became an injury, especially with 2 races coming up in November. I have heard such great things about ART but I wasn’t sure if I was a candidate since I’m not really experiencing pain. I chose a chiropractor that performs ART over a physical therapist since my insurance covers it and I didn’t need a prescription from my primary care doctor to make an appointment.

Fast forward to last night. First, I couldn’t believe that people were getting treated right in front of everyone (it’s a small office). People are laying down on these crazy beds right near the waiting room. And these people looked like they were in so much pain! Ice packs, traction, etc. Scary! I got the whole work-up (x-rays, foot analysis, my oh my) and then laid down on a crazy bed. The doctor immediately told me to put both of my arms out in front of me (if I was standing up, think of the mummy walk) and resist while he tries to push my arms down. My right arm was fine; I was able to resist. My left not so much. I tried with all my might but I could barely keep him from pushing my left arm all the way down. Strange. Then he did something with my feet and my left was hanging lower than my right. Hmmmm. He did an adjustment to my left arm and then he tried to push it down again and it didn’t budge. I was shocked! I was pretty skeptical going into the appointment but maybe this will work???

I’m going back next Thursday for another appointment to discuss my x-rays and possible ART. I just want to be in tip top shape for my upcoming 12K and the Philly Half.

Have you ever been to a chiropractor? I’m trying to keep an open mind about it…
Do you prefer the track for speed work? I’m OK with the treadmill too, at least it passes the time quickly.

A 2-Week Hiatus

October 4, 2011 by Kristy 14 Comments

Yesterday marked the end of my 2-week running hiatus. Odd, right? Since my September was supposed to be filled with fun runs.

After the Philly RnR Half, which I foolishly raced the week after my marathon, my right hamstring was tight. My legs were not ready for the final 3 miles at 10K pace but I got greedy. I wanted another PR. I was on a roll, right?

After the RnR Half, I could barely bend down to touch my right knee. Normally I can touch my feet, and, on a good day, I can even do forehead to knee. I knew I pissed off my hamstring big time.

My right hamstring gets tight after speed work, due to overstriding. Once my pace drops to around 7:30, I lead heavily with my right foot, extended it way out in front of me, and heel strike like crazy. A little foam rolling after speed work and I’m usually good to go. But not this time, hence the 2-week break and lots of foam rolling, ice, and rest.

A little TLC went a long way since I was OK at Saturday’s 5K 🙂 Monday’s run was OK too…just some residual tightness but nothing like 2 weeks ago. Yay!

The Philly Half is 6 weeks away and I need to get back to the track. Since the tight hamstring only rears its ugly head at sub-8:00 pace, I’m hesitant to hit the track for speed work too soon.

What do I do when I don’t know what to do? I make a plan…

continue to take it easy this week (no speed work)
go to yoga this week
get a massage (I really need someone to dig deep into my hamstring)
and, the BIG one…work on not overstriding. Keep my feet underneath me (my center of gravity) and take quick, short strides.

This YouTube video illustrates overstriding perfectly (I find this completely fascinating). I don’t think I’m as bad as runner #2…maybe more like runner #4.

Do you overstride? Yes, no, maybe so? I always have but it was never a problem for me until I started running faster. Instead of increasing my leg turnover, I increase my stride length in order to pick up the pace. Not good at all.

what we want vs. what we have

August 30, 2011 by Kristy 10 Comments

8/30/11
6 miles speed
*6 x 800m at 10K pace. It was freezing this morning! OK, that’s a slight exaggeration but it felt amazing out. I cannot wait for Fall running weather.

Don’t we always want what we don’t have? Aren’t we supposed to be grateful for what we have and make the most of it? Absolutely, but that doesn’t mean we can’t dream or ~~make a list~~. Here are some of my current “wants”.

Want: bangs
What I Have: curly hair
Yeah, there’s no mixing the two. Kinda like oil and water. I would also like to run my fingers through my hair on occasion but they would get stuck. Actually, I love my curly hair (I never straighten it) because it’s different and, most of the time, pretty low maintenance.

Want: long, lean legs
What I Have: short, muscular legs
So my legs will never look like Kara Goucher’s. But they power me through marathons and totally came through on last week’s 22-miler. This might be the worst picture ever, by the way.

Want: a career involving running (talking, writing, blogging, and most of all, coaching)
What I Have: a job
I’m fortunate enough to even have a job but that doesn’t mean I can’t complain! I’ll get to the running career someday…baby steps. At least I’m lucky enough to spend a good deal of time outside my job coaching. That’s where my passion lies and that’s what I will do someday…for a job and career.

Want: a pair of TOMS wedges
What I Have: not a pair of TOMS wedges
This isn’t the best “I want vs. I have” but I’ve been eyeing these shoes up for awhile. And then Holly had a pair on at the HLS and raved about how comfortable they are.

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Want: to run the Boston Marathon in 2012
What I Have: a slim-to-none and crappy chance of even registering
So this is my biggest want, obviously. If When I qualify on 9/11/11, it won’t be by more than 5 minutes (i.e., 3:40 or sub-3:40), which is the rumored time you might need in order to get priority registration. I could worry about that now or I could put that energy into qualifying and leave the stuff that is out of my hands to fate.

Now it’s your turn. Give me a current “want” vs. “have”…or two!

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