Day 204, 161 To Go

July 23, 2013

Normally, I am writing my blog a few days late.  The benefit of this is that I have days worth of material that I can draw on.  Now, I am sitting in front of my computer wracking my brain for something interesting to write about and I have nothing. 

I guess that isn't entirely true.  I'm sure I could find something running related to write about, or I could talk about all the cute and funny things the babies and Derek did today, or I could complain about Honey.  The problem is, they didn't do anything extraordinary today other than being super cute.  Derek was his normal annoying 4 year old self...nothing new there.  And Honey was super sweet and sexy today, so I don't want to complain about her (the night is young still!)

One of my plans was to discuss the article I posted a few days ago that listed 25 golden rules of running.  I think I can expand on each of those and help educate all the budding runners out there.  Then I thought, why not read it your damn self?!?!

Ok, ok, I'll talk about them over the next few weeks.  Not because you can't read, but because I need a topic and this is good for almost 25 days worth of topics!

1. The Specificity Rule
The most effective training mimics the event for which you're training.

This is the cardinal rule of training for any activity. If you want to run a 10-K at seven-minute-per-mile pace, you need to do some running at that pace. "Runners are best served by running at goal pace and in the expected environment of that race," says Ann Snyder, Ph.D., director of the human performance lab at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The Exception: It's impractical to wholly mimic a race--particularly longer distances--in training because it would require extended recovery. So, when doing race-specific training, keep the total distance covered shorter than the goal race, or run at your race pace in shorter segments with rest breaks (interval training).

This rule seems really obvious.  If you want to run fast you have to train fast.  There is a reason this is number 1 on the list.  Most runners, at one point or another, obsess about their times and they want to get faster.  Most of the time, we just run and run and run without much improvement and we wonder why?  The reason is our training is not specific.  There is a lot more to specificity and this really applies in the sport of triathlon where there is a bigger need for specificity.  In running, it applies to speed, but also for distance.

As the rule says, if you want to run a 7 min mile in a 10k, you have to train at that pace.  By the same token, if you want to run 10k, you had better, at some point, make sure you have run at least 6.2 miles.  In fact, for most distances (not marathons) you should make sure you have attempted the distance, if not more.  You can get away with a long run of 10 miles if you are training for a 1/2 Marathon, especially if you have a short lead time before the race, but if you have the time, why not try to run 13.2 miles.  Now don't do this to close to that actual race, but if you plan well, you can do it.

So, the way to wrap your head around this rule is to think about what your goal is.  If your goal is to run an 8 min mile pace in an upcoming 10k race, you need to do some training at that pace.  You can do a speed workout where you to 800 meter repeats at 8 min pace.  You can incorporate some race pace miles in your long run on the weekends.  If you are going to run 8 miles, run your middle 3 miles, or better yet, your last 3 miles, at the pace you want to run.  Try to incorporate some specific race pace running into all of your runs.  The exception are your recovery days.  Just forget about running your race pace for that day or two and just get in some easy miles.

There are thousands of ways you can incorporate your desired pace into your workouts, you just need to do some planning.  Don't just go out and run, go out and run with a specific plan in hand to address your goals.  If you aren't sure what to do, go online and do a search or go to a reputable source like Runner's World to look for advice.

Here are my numbers for today:

Time: 25:00

Distance: 3.06 miles

Pace: 8:10/m

Max Pace: x:xx/m

Calories: 292
Avg HR: 145

Max HR: 153

My GPS was on the fritz when I started today so my max pace was off.  It said I was running at a Kenyonesc pace of 4:30 when I was probably pushing 10:00.  It finally set itself right, but I don't have a true max pace today to post.  Oh well.  I felt good and rested and I could have easily gone faster, but I tried to say in my zone and I did for the most part.  TTFN peoples!

Run for Life!!