Will slow runs affect race time. (Read 917 times)

I have had some niggly injuries over thye past 3 weeks which have meant my runs have not been of much quality. Mainly easy runs. As i havent done any faster stuff do you think my time is likely to suffer. My injuries seem to be gone although i have not really tested them.

It looks like you've kept up the mileage, so I think you'll be fine. You don't say what distance you have coming up... If it's a 5k, you might be missing some leg speed, but for the longer stuff you've probably held most of your endurance. It's always better to be a little undertrained than overtrained going into a race.

Sorry! Its a 10k. Felt a bit flat last night. Tried a few strides at race pace but there wasnt much spring in my step.

I've had some of my best races come off a sluggish couple weeks.

As I mentioned to you once before, your average daily pace is much too fast. It's probably a contibuting factor to your injuries and a possible reason as to why you run so few miles. It only takes a couple quality runs each week to race well, and even on those it's not necessary to hammer yourself into the ground.

Yep. According to your log, you most recent race time is a 40:40 10k. If you plug that into McMillan, you get the following pace recommendations for easy runs: Recovery Jogs 8:47 to 9:17 Long Runs 7:47 to 8:47 Easy Runs 7:47 to 8:17 From Jack Daniels' VDOT, we get an easy pace of 8:24/mi. It looks like you rarely train in this area. And the sporadic nature of your schedule, along with not enough recovery due to running too fast on easy days, is likely the cause of your injuries. To race faster, you don't need to train faster, you need to train more. And you can train more and avoid injury by slowing down on your easy runs. Don't be afraid to bring it on your quality days once or twice a week, but otherwise take it easy. Remember: Running slow allows you to run more Running more allows you to race faster MTA: Whoa, I just realized that the 10k I'm referencing was in 2005. Any recent race time that we can use as a benchmark?

Raced a 10k on 18th May and came in 40:48 on a hilly forest tack course. I have been slowing things down a bit since then as advised previously, but I felt sharper going into that race than I do now.

If you are running every other day then I think you should definetely be running faster than 8:20 pace. It's not like you're lacking recovery time because your taking the next day completely off.

ahhh...but the point is that running slower, but longer and more often will do more for the race time than running fast but less.

Yes! Slow, high-volume running will improve race times more than fast, low-volume running.

good luck Banana Man!!!

Pre race nerves must be setting in. This is a big race for me on Sat. Thanks again folks.

Good luck, dude. Be sure to throw a few striders into your easy runs to keep you legs sharp. And I recommend not taking the day off before the race. Better to take Thurs off before a Saturday race, and run real easy on Friday. Use your own experience as a guide, but in my case, I'm kinda flat they day after a day off.