Slow down to speed up? (Read 1223 times)

heh - I didnt use a HRM or anything fancy to learn how to slow down - I have my own trick. I recruited people to run with me in the wee hours of the morning who had never run before. At the time I was pg so I didnt care what pace we were going I just wanted to have company. By the time I was ready to resume running I had some training p's who were slower than I wanted to run but capable of running 3-5 miles. That was fine. Still wanted company. 2 of the 3 dropped out eventually, but the third is still going strong and we are matched for pace now and she just finished her first marathon. But that process of bringing a new runner up at THEIR pace not mine was enough to prove to me how much better it worked.

Dude. I hadn't thought of that. The OP should get pregnant. That will slow him down. It's possible now.

I've been trying to get knocked up for weeks, having unprotected sex left and right. No bun in the oven yet, just a bunch of pissed off pregnant women. I may be confused about how it works.

I don't think the reason for slowing the pace down on our easy days is necessarily because we can run harder during our key workouts. The real payoff is that it enables us to do workouts that are hard enough on a consistent basis. I'm not a big advocate of hammering any workouts...hard, yes...but not hammering. If we can run good quality workouts week after week, while seldom needing rest days to recover, some very good things start to happen. It's all the stops and starts that can put a damper on our progess. Consistency will beat an 'eye-popping workout followed by a rest day' pattern almost every time. The exception to this would be for someone who races only a few times each year. In that case it is probably necessary to run a few very hard workouts to prepare the body for racing.