Forever Learning
Me too!!
Michelle
Don't forget the rest days - it looks like you haven't had one in a while. Recovery is part of training. And no, this isn't said because we have a little rivalry going
Not with you dropping 13 milers on me In all seriousness - I was looking at the pace of your runs and am a bit concerned that you are going a bit too hard. For example - your tempo runs of 3 miles are faster than your 5K PR? That shouldn't be. Tempo runs should be 25-30 seconds per mile slower than 5-K race pace. Tempo runs should be "comfortably hard" and not all out efforts. Either you are set for a 20 minute 5-K or you are running your tempo's too fast. If you haven't looked at it before, McMillan (www.mcmillanrunning.com/rununiv/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm ) provides some good training paces based on a recent race result. Remember that ~80% of your weekly miles should be fairly easy and relaxed at an aerobic pace (can talk in full sentences). Don't want to see you get injured or burned out...
I've got a fever...
I'm in the process of working on a running schedule, with help from Scout7. I'm hoping that will help me figure out how to maintain safe training.
On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office. But you will wish that you'd spent more time running. Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.
That said - I still think 6:50'ish is probably above your lactate threshold. The goal of tempo runs is to be run just below your lactate threshold - with the goal of slowing lactic acid production during vigorous efforts. With training you can improve the pace at when you hit your lactate threshold. If you are running above your lactate threshold you are defeating the purpose of the tempo rum (IMHO)
400~1000m intervals are great for 5k improvements, and 3x1 mile at 5k pace with 3~4 minutes easy recovery jog is a fantastic workout. The best pace that you can sustain for all 3 of the one-mile segments (as opposed to blasting the one or two and dying) will very closely match what you should be able to do for a 5k race. McMillan gives good target times for all of these intervals.Lots of debate over this, but you may want to set your treadmill to 1% incline to make it more comparable to real-life running.
Even if you don't plan on running a marathon, reading a book like Daniels Running Formula by Jack Daniels or Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger explain a good bit of the physiological effects of training in addition to having training plans. Tim Noakes has an "encyclopedia" called The Lore of Running if you really want to dive into the physiology.
When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
Not with you dropping 13 milers on me
Regarding your body craving the coke after a 13 mile run? I wouldn't try to prevent it. IMO it's simply your body begging for you to replenish all the glycogen you just burned. Water does me just fine on shorter (say 6-8 miles or less) runs - but anything longer and I have to have carbs - for me that means gatorade or something like that.
I need to read more about this. My thought is that by pushing myself to run harder my body would get used to that and run faster, easier.