I had this post saved as a draft before getting derailed with family issues (see the previous post). I thought I would post it as is.
Last Night:
8 X 400 repeats FAST
In a word ouch!
I feel comfortable running slowly for long distance. I can focus and get a nice stride (it still may be an incorrect stride). My Heart rate levels out and off I go. The minute I try to accelerate:
1.) I do not actually go that much faster.
2.) My HR increases rapidly
3.) I tire quickly
To generate speed I seem to need considerable energy.
Here is another example; At track the other day we ran 5 X 1000 (5 1000 meter sprints). The goal was to start at a moderate speed and do each one faster than the next. When it comes to runs like this I use an 8 minute mile as a "base". This a pace that I can run a 5K race. This then breaks down to a 2 minute 400 meter run. So using this as a base the 1000's should be in the 5 minute range. A 1000 meter is 2.5 laps of a 400 meter track; 2 minutes X 2.5 = 5 minutes.
This is how I begin my track workouts (4th grade math??). So with a workout being descending 1000 meter runs I try and shoot for the middle one to be the 5k pace. So I began with the goal of the first one being in the 5:20 range, the second in the 5:10 range, the third (the middle) at 5:00 minutes. The last half should be faster than the 5k pace. Following the pattern then, fourth at 4:50 and the fifth and final one at 4:40.
My actual times: First 5:38, second 5:26, third 5:05, fourth 4:45, and finally the fifth at 4:42. So, all in all not a bad workout. I could have been a little faster in the beginning. Most importantly I did decrease my times. Even if each run was only 1 second faster than th previous one I would have considered it a success.
However what is driving me nuts is this. During the first four 1000's me and another person ran together. We basically paced off each other. On the last 1000 she moved ahead of me after the first 200 meters. I tried to stay with her but there was no chance in that. In the end she was about 150 meters ahead of me. The frustrating thing is not that I was tired it was that I just could not move my body any faster. At the end I still felt strong, in fact strong enough that I could have run another 1000 at the same pace.
I just could not propel my body any faster. How does one go faster?
I have always been slow. Let me rephrase that; I have always been really slow.
My mile times and 5 k times have gone down so why do say that I have not gotten any faster. It is true that I am faster at these distances but over short distances I am really slow. I am only going get so fast at the longer distances if I get faster at the shorter ones.
