Run Faster to Run Faster

One thing I read on a regular basis is that if you want to run faster, you need to run faster.  Makes sense.  Adding in tempo runs and speed work will work wonders for your speed.

As I continue with what I like to call my pre-training for the Hotlanta Half in August, this has become quite evident.  My race training plan does not officially start until I get back from vacation in the first week of June, but I have been working on tempo runs and speed work at least once a week on a treadmill for the past couple months.  Pre-training to me is getting myself in the best shape possible to begin the full training I will need to do for that half marathon, which will in turn have me ready to start Goofy training in September.

Anyway, back to running faster.  What I have seen is the times on my long run gradually decreasing to the point that my average pace was below a 10 minute mile for the first time ever last Friday.  For these long runs I do not even look at my watch until I know I am well past the halfway point.  I go with what feels right that day.  End result is that I am not pushing myself to make a better time each week.  It is just happening naturally, which to me is how it should be.

What I am going to be curious to see is what happens to these times as the temperatures on long run mornings start to get warmer each week.  Will I struggle more to keep up the good pace, or will the increased speed training compensate to keep me going at a good pace?

There is a 10K on July 4 morning on the Big Creek Greenway what Karen and I might sign up for.  That should be nice and hot to offer a good test to see if I can keep up a good pace for 6.2 miles.  My goal pace for that race right now would be a 9:30 mile with a finish in under 60 minutes.  With where I am right now, I am confident I am within striking distance of that.  Time will tell.

An Experiment of One

Since the Disney Wine & Dine Half was my first race, i discovered the running board on a popular Disney message board.  If you have never been to the DisBoards, then this is a great place to go.  They not only talk Disney races, but discuss other running related things as well.  There are all sorts of people on this board.  First time runners, runners like myself who have just gotten into it recently and running coaches.

Every time a topic comes up about how to hydrate for a race, fuel for a race or pace a race, his comment is always "each of us is an experiment of one".  What this means is that what works for one person might not work for another.  Some people can run with very little fuel, some need fuel more often than others, and the type of food each person can handle might be different.

I can say that I have tried all sorts of combinations over the past two years.  Started out with the energy beans and Gatorade.  I then moved onto energy chews and watered down Powerade, but I just did not feel like that was really doing it for me either.

My current long run regimen goes something like this.  For the record, I have a fuel belt with four 8 oz bottles that comes along for the run.

• Chocolate chip Clif bar and half a glass of Powerade about 30 minutes before heading out
• For the first four miles, I only drink water each 1.5 miles
• At mile 4, I take a strawberry/caffeine Clif Shot Gel washed down with some water
• After this I alternate water and non-watered down Powerade every 1-1.5 miles
• I'll continue with he gels every 3-4 miles, and if I am within four miles of finishing my run I take nothing.
• When I finally finish my run, there is nothing better than a big, cold glass of chocolate milk.

I only follow this if my long run is 10 or more miles.  I ran 7 miles this morning and only took along my water and Powerade.  If I had been running 10 miles, I would have taken one gel at mile 4, and then only water and Powerade after that.

I will say that the gels took some getting use to, but they have grown on me over the past few weeks.  However, this regimen seems to be working for me at the moment, and I will be sticking with it through my summer training.