Sunday, August 2, 2009
Heeding Your Advice
I have had several people suggest that I slow down my easy and long runs. It is very true that I tend to only have one speed and because of that I don't get the most out of all my runs. I am sure that has also played a part in some of my injuries. So today I set out for 10 miles and decided to take it easy. I started out with about an 8:45 mile. Despite feeling like I needed to speed up several times, I stayed pretty close to that pace and ran at an average of 8:30. I must admit that I felt like I should be going faster and it is hard for me mentally to run that slow when I know I can run faster. I just have to realize that in the long run it is not about today's workout it is about the my overall fitness and peaking for the marathon.
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3 comments:
nice job on slowing down. it does seem pointless but it allows your legs to 'actively recover' while still logging miles. if you ran full-out everyday, you'd most likely have to take a lot more rest days. by slowing down you are able to still run and build endurance. my theory, anyway. :)
Nice run. Not only does it let your legs recover but the longer you are running the more capillaries develop in your legs for better blood flow. Also the longer time lets more mitochondria develop in your cells so your energy production goes up and is more efficient. Your body develops it's fat burning processes also when your heart rate is lower. You get many benefits from long, slow running. Don't worry about speed, that's what your other workouts are for.
What Lindsay says. And keep in mind - part of your training involves aerobic fitness. And you can't get areobically fit if every run is at latate threshold or VO2Max!
Way to go with slowing down. Belive me - you will find that you *will* be faster on race day by slowing down when training. The key is racing on race day and training on training days. Not racing on training days. We get better by working hard and then *recovering*. Not by running hard every day.
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