Sunday, May 3, 2020

Weekly Sweats: Have I Gotten Faster?

This was a hard week with some good running mixed in.  26.5 miles of running and two weight workouts.  I finally have some data to support that I've gotten faster, and I'm going to ramble my heart out about what's working for me now.

I'm linking up with the Weekly Run Down, please head over to Kim and Deborah to check it out. 

Monday: weights and 4.25 miles easy with strides.

Tuesday: 6.5 miles total, 1.25 miles warmup then 4 x 1200 with 400 recover and 1.25 miles cool down.  After a few weeks of trial and error with this workout I've come up with the goal of the first 3 repeats at 10:30 and the last as fast as I want.  Net result: 10:28, 10:26, 10:26, and 10:17.  But don't let the fast finish fool you, I came >>this close<< to bailing on the final quarter mile of the last repeat.

Wednesday: worst rest day ever.  My father-in-law passed away.  He was 91 and had been in poor health for many years, so this was not unexpected, just unwelcome.  His assisted living facility has been on lock down since early March, but now protecting him from COVID-19 was no longer a concern and we were allowed to be with him on his final day.

Thursday: I woke up feeling the weight of a ton of bricks and knew that my planned 6-ish miles with a 'lil speed was not in the cards.  3.25 miles easy gave me the reboot that I needed.

Friday: weights and by rights I should have done hills, but I was still a bit tired so I took a flatter route and got my mojo back.  4.5 miles.

Saturday: good things and bad things to say about this 8 miler.  I went to my favorite park on earth and included the trail in this run.  I hadn't run the trail since before my 2nd half marathon last fall, and I'd forgotten how hard it is.  Miles 4-6 are the same as miles 3-5 of this race, I hit 11:03, 11:56, and 12:04 for them in the race and 11:06, 12:03, and 13:10 yesterday.  I completely blew up in mile 6 which in retrospect is no worse than I've run it in the past but in the moment I lost my runner's mojo.  My body said "dude, I'm done" and my head said "you are incompetent as a runner, just give up".

It wouldn't have been the worst thing to just walk the remaining two miles home, but was there another option?  My brain did a quick scan of every running blog I've ever read and gave me a solution for How To Keep Running When You Don't Feel Like Running: 4:1 intervals, which I'm crediting to Wendy (I don't have a specific post, just go there and you'll find something good).   My lizard brain accepted that I was capable of running for 4 minutes and then treating myself to a minute of walking and we were off and rolling.

Sunday: rest

Speed Talk
Speed has been an elusive beast.  I started running 10 years ago, and have been pretty serious about it for the past two years.  When I started, I was hitting a 12 minute pace and up until this winter, I was hitting....a 12 minute pace.  Just run more they said, just do speed work they's not for lack of trying but I've felt very stuck for a long time.  If I had a dime for every time I've googled "how to go from a 12 minute mile to an 8 minute mile" I would be a very wealthy woman.

But something's been different this year.  Overall I feel stronger and I've had a few months of "fast for me" runs.  But how can I quantify that?  Oh hey Smashrun.  What we're looking at is April 2019 compared to April 2020.  The two April's are both 100% road running (I'm faster on the treadmill so that would skew the numbers) and both months had similar mileage, so I think it's a fair apples-to-apples comparison.  I've gone from a 12:08 average pace to a 11:40 average pace.

What I was doing in April 2019: getting ready for my first half marathon.  I ran a 10k and a 10 mile race, both at an 11 minute pace.  Other notable runs were a 10 mile long run in a headwind (ugh I remember it like it was yesterday, that one was tough) and a 12 mile long run.  I was starting to experiment with off-treadmill speed work, nothing remarkable, just a few surges and "one minute fast-one minute slow" stuff.  I remember the weather as being a bit nicer, neither very cold nor very warm.  Overall it was an excellent running month.

What I did in April 2020: ran a virtual 10k and half, long runs were two 10 milers.  I had to change out a few speed workouts for easier runs to taper and then recover from the races, but I do surges and much more difficult speed workouts than I did a year ago.  I feel like the weather has been a bit harsher this April but overall it was an excellent running month.

Things That I Think Are Making A Difference
[Disclaimer: I am a Stranger on the Internet, so please regard my ramblings in that light.  I am an expert in what I think is happening to me, I don't have a clue about what is going on with you.  My primary reason for writing this is to document where I am now.  I am not a doctor, I am not a physical therapist, and I am most certainly not a running coach.  If you disagree with everything that I say, there is a good chance that you are correct.]
  • Complete disregard for the 80/20 rule.  The principle of running 80% of your mileage at an easy pace and 20% at a harder effort is a great theory but it just hasn't done anything for me.  Last fall after my 3rd half marathon I cut my mileage back, and I think that's when I started pushing my pace because I was "only" running 3-4 miles.  To be clear, I'm not busting a gut with every workout but I'm also not taking it easy (another way to say it is that I do things that are hard and uncomfortable, I do not do things that hurt.)
  • I started doing speed work "my way".  While I've been stagnant in my outdoor running speed, I have gotten faster on the treadmill over time.  Last fall I started to mimic my treadmill approach in my long runs: the 10 mile workout that worked really well for me was: 4 miles easy, then 0.1 miles fast/0.1 miles slow x 10 (a.k.a. 2 miles), 2 miles easy, repeat 0.1 miles fast/0.1 miles slow x 10 for the final 2 miles.  I didn't put any pressure on myself to hit a particular speed with "fast", and doing that would always net me a sub 12 minute paced mile. Let's compare that with traditional speed work, say 8 x 400 at 5k pace.  That's a really common workout AND IT IS NOT RIGHT FOR MY BODY.  I can't count the number of times that doing something like that has either discouraged me or hurt me.  Last summer I followed a structured speed plan, and while it delivered the promised result of a 30 second improvement in my mile time, it didn't make my overall speed any faster.
  • Um, you know, fueling for my runs.  4 out of 5 of my weekly runs last April were done with no food and no coffee.  If you look back in the archives you'll see me say (and totally believe) stuff like "no food no problem" and "I run first thing in the morning so I just don't have time to eat first but it absolutely doesn't cause any issues". I'm at a complete 180 from that now.  Back in February I decided to start having a banana before easy runs and UCAN before hard runs.  Now in these more relaxed days of shelter in place I have coffee and breakfast before running and am absolutely miserable when I don't.
  • I think the cumulative effect of following some pretty common running advice has also helped:
    • Running more.  No doubt about it, running got "easier" once I started doing it 5 days a week instead of 3 days a week and I've got about two years of that under my belt now.  Though, ahem, running is really my only form of cardio, and you'll encounter plenty of great runners who run way less than I do but make up for it in the cross training department.
    • Throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall to see what sticks: this kind of goes along with the "disregard for the 80/20 rule" but nearly every run that I do has a workout element to it, whether that's speed or hills.
    • Strength training.  It's no secret that strength isn't my first love and I had gotten pretty slack with it.  It's taken a long time to come back, and there have been many episodes of just going through the motions because I'm "supposed to" but I'm in a good place now and seeing improvements.
  • Stuff that I haven't tried:
    • Running with a group.  So many runners credit their improvements to running with people who are faster than them. I looked into joining a training group this spring, but I knew that committing to being at a given place at a given time was going to add a lot of stress to an already crowded schedule.  And oh right, group running is on the no-no list right now so it's probably for the best.  But that's where I came up with the idea of pushing myself in my long runs, I guess you could say that I run with an imaginary running group.
    • Working with a coach.  Tons of success stories on the internet in this department, and I've also seen some fails.  While a professional would probably structure my workouts differently, I'm not sure what they would tell me to do besides what I'm doing.  I haven't ruled this out for the future, but right now I feel like I'm in a good place on my own.
    • Running slower.  It's pretty hard to run slower than a 12 minute pace without walking.  I'll certainly slow down if I'm having a tough day, but other than that I run how I wanna run.  Now that my average speed is in the 11's, I have a new "gear" that wasn't there before, so it's possible that I may pursue slow stuff in the future now that I have a fast to balance it out with.
    • Heart Rate Training.  Just no.  I got enough stuff to control in my life, I don't have the bandwidth to fret about how fast my heart is beating.  Some running experts strongly advocate heart rate training, and others strongly advocate not bothering with it.  When I did the speed program last summer I started to see my heart rate drop on easy runs, and I continue to see it drop.  Never say never, but at this time I don't see heart rate training becoming a part of my running journey.


  1. I think the most important thing that stood out to me was that you did speed work "your way". This is something that I learned during marathon training. There is no "one size fits all". Once you know what works for you and your body, adjusting plans and workouts is such a great thing!

  2. We are in agreement with so much stuff ;-) I worked with a coach once. It was a great experience, but I went into my big marathon horribly over-trained (my belief). I was running way more miles each week (and each month) than I'd ever done before. It was great at the time, but in retrospect, it was a big no-no for me. I do better with moderate mileage, so I'm content to go with what my body knows. After all, all of my PR's and "successes" recently have been on my own LOL

  3. I agree w what Kim said above. You have to figure out what works best for you and your body. Someone else's plan is not always going to work for you. Sounds like you are starting to see some changes that you like and that's fantastic. So sorry for your family's loss. It's even harder during these times

  4. I've been reading your posts over the past several months and based on the workouts you've shared, I'd be surprised if you hadn't gotten faster. You've put in the work and the rewards are coming! I'm thrilled you found what works for you!

  5. So sorry for your loss. Just today I was thinking that having a funeral during a lockdown is adding insult to injury.
    Look at your speed improvement! Well done! I'm with you on the ”haven't tried” points. And yes, just simply running more helped me, too. And it’s stress-free!

  6. A lot of those "rules" are geared towards elite athletes, not us mere mortals. We have to make things fit and that's ok. I'm glad you're finding your fit. I personally like the 4:1 intervals--they kept me moving through a terrible running year last year. You can play with the interval too. On shorter runs, I'll do 9:1. Do what works for you!

  7. I'm definitely a proponent of running MORE and strength training. Glad to hear you're starting to see some results!

  8. I joined MRTT about six years ago and started running with a group of ladies who were about 20 years younger than me. Although not all of them were faster than me at the time, all were able to push it hard on our runs and I gained significant speed that summer trying to hang on for dear life to keep up with the faster ones. It was such a great summer of training and led to my fastest fall of races. As I've aged and they're reaching their peak, I can only start a training run with them and wish them well as they take off and leave me in their dust. With that being said, training with faster runners is a great way to get faster.

    I also credit strength training to keeping me healthy through so many years of running multiple marathons in a month.

  9. I'm so sorry to hear about your father in law's passing, but glad you were able to be with him. That water photo is just so peaceful. I Agree with Kim, doing speed work your way is probably a huge factor. You can't follow someone else's plan blindly, it needs to be something that works for/with your schedule.

  10. I'm so sorry about your father in law. I'm that you were at least able to be with him.
    You have some really good insight into your training! It really is just about finding what works for you. No matter what strategy you follow I think its important to be able to find a balance where you can run enough miles to see improvement while also getting in some quality workouts, all without overtraining/getting injured. It's a fine line but it sounds like you have figured it out!

  11. I'm so sorry about your father-in-law. Sending thoughts of peace and comfort to your family.

    I love how you've made your training work for you. Not every plan works for every person, and it's awesome that you found a way to make a breakthrough. Well done!

  12. Teehee on the heart rare training. I agree, and I find it stressful to try to keep my HR down! Maybe that's just the way I am. It's exciting to see progress in your running! I think I've pretty much peaked in my running and I am (slowly, and begrudgingly) accepting that fact. But it's all good, right? ;) So sorry about your father in law. That is good you were able to be with him. Sending hugs to your family!

  13. I'm sorry to hear about your father in law, but glad you had the opportunity to be with him.

    For me I think consistency and hiring a running coach has made a serious difference in my speed. Like you, I wasn't seeing much progress even after years of training, but once I hired a coach and started training for my second marathon I got a LOT faster. He gives me targeted workouts, which really helps me. Also I don't do all my runs "easy" pace. I run by feel for a lot of my "easy" runs. Sometimes that's a bit faster pace and others a slower pace, but I like to go by what my body is feeling at the moment.

  14. I am so very sorry about your father-in-law's passing.

    It's so great to see that you have found training that works best for you. I really do think you have to "try on" different approaches and see what fits best. Congrats on your progress!!

  15. I am so sorry to hear about your FIL. But I understand that worrying about COVID-19 on top of already ill health is something that takes a lot of energy. May he rest in peace.

    I am not surprised at all you are getting faster. And "fast" is so relative isn't it! Yet these "programs" are not relative at all - they assume the athlete can do all the things designed by the program when in reality we are all different. I've done a lot of the things that one is "supposed" to do - and to be honest I quite like having someone else design a program for me, but it's not always on the money. I had my peak actually when I ran with a group, but again we are all different and that may not mean it would help you. For me though it was the right amount of encouragement and competition that I needed. I would still run with a group if there was one where I met the requirements (after I got faster, I overtrained, ran too many races and then had to get surgery, etc, etc, so I've gone backwards a bit)

  16. I am sorry for your loss. Hugs to you and your family. I am not surprised you are getting faster. You've done so well in your workouts! You do what works you. How are you liking the UCAN? Have you tried Tailwind?

  17. I am sorry to hear about your father-in-law, but I am glad he lived to a ripe old age and that you were able to be with him during his final days.

    I am thrilled to hear that you've gotten faster and that your work "your way" has started to pay off. Good job!! Oh damn, and Smashrun is amazing... I'll go back and analyze some of my training. All i can say is that it's hard to get faster and it will take time. Going from a 12 min pace to an 8 min pace is hard, hard work, I started out at a 10:30 pace 5 years ago and am now around a 9 min pace (on my best days). I didn't work as hard at it as I could have ( I am sure), but training persistently will eventually pay off. Also cross-training has led to huge pace gains for me.