Regular tempos resumed this week, and we couldn't have asked for a much better night for it. Our numbers were small - probably because the weather forecast. Severe storms are a possibility in the overnight, and that might have been enough to keep some runners home. Can't blame them really. My old saying goes, "If it lightnings you might get hit; if it hails, you will get hit."
The plan was for a 3-mile tempo. We split into groups, trying to match up runners with comparable speeds. By staggering the starts, we've been pretty successful in keeping the wait at the finish to a minimum. The other benefit is it gives those that go further back something to chase. That's a bonus, because it provides a bit of race atmosphere to the proceedings.
Take a look at the numbers and see how it came out. If you don't see your numbers here, you didn't give them to me.
Remember what we're trying to get done here... we want around 20 minutes of activity at 85-90% max heart rate. This is not all-out, and form should be carefully maintained throughout. Splits should be relatively even, spreading no more than 10 seconds per mile split.
Allen - Well done. Those are nice splits, and relatively even. Just what the doctor ordered.
Dan G - That's not bad, but you can see it started to get away from you as the run went on. The topography of the course has a lot to do with it... downhill the first half, uphill the second, but the smart racer has to know the course and account for it. It takes experience, but the key is to start out a bit easier.
Galloway - I think you came in not intending to push it. That's the way you sounded when we took off. Jimmy goaded you to try it anyway. Yup, I could see you trying to slip out of it. ;)
Jimmy - Started the first quarter too fast, but brought it under control and set it on cruise the rest of the way. Nice splits, and ahead of pace.
John T. - That last mile got away a bit, but it is uphill. I think you're still battling the effects of having been sick in the last week. Once the lungs come back, the splits will even up.
Sandy - These splits illustrate the point we were trying to make regarding even effort. Once you blast a hard mile and go anaerobic, there is no recovery. A smart target for you next week would be 8:45-minute pace. How do I know? That's right about where your average was overall. Slow down the first mile to go faster.
That's another way of looking at this, gang... compare your first mile to your total run average. If they vary by more than 10 seconds, you were probably too aggressive mile one.
Finally, compare the growth of those that ran both recorded tempos. A very attainable goal is to drop 5 seconds per mile each week. Over three miles that gives you a 15-second improvement every week on your time. Especially the first few weeks, this is relatively easy to do. And, once again, the easiest path to improving for most newcomers is to slow that first mile down.
The plan was for a 3-mile tempo. We split into groups, trying to match up runners with comparable speeds. By staggering the starts, we've been pretty successful in keeping the wait at the finish to a minimum. The other benefit is it gives those that go further back something to chase. That's a bonus, because it provides a bit of race atmosphere to the proceedings.
Take a look at the numbers and see how it came out. If you don't see your numbers here, you didn't give them to me.
| Athlete | Mile 1 | Mile 2 | Mile 3 | Total | AVG | Last Wk |
| Allen | 7:12:00 | 7:06:00 | 7:12:00 | 21:30:00 | 7:10:00 | |
| Dan G | 7:47:00 | 8:01:00 | 8:15:00 | 24:03:00 | 8:01:00 | 8:17:00 |
| Galloway | 6:32:00 | 6:49:00 | 7:07:00 | 20:28:00 | 6:49:20 | 6:41:00 |
| IronBill | 6:30:00 | 6:31:00 | 6:28:00 | 19:29:00 | 6:29:40 | 6:39:00 |
| Jimmy | 6:32:00 | 6:38:00 | 6:40:00 | 19:50:00 | 6:36:40 | |
| John T. | 7:11:00 | 7:08:00 | 7:16:00 | 21:35:00 | 7:11:40 | 7:18:00 |
| Sandy | 8:14:00 | 9:18:00 | 8:48:00 | 26:20:00 | 8:46:40 |
Remember what we're trying to get done here... we want around 20 minutes of activity at 85-90% max heart rate. This is not all-out, and form should be carefully maintained throughout. Splits should be relatively even, spreading no more than 10 seconds per mile split.
Allen - Well done. Those are nice splits, and relatively even. Just what the doctor ordered.
Dan G - That's not bad, but you can see it started to get away from you as the run went on. The topography of the course has a lot to do with it... downhill the first half, uphill the second, but the smart racer has to know the course and account for it. It takes experience, but the key is to start out a bit easier.
Galloway - I think you came in not intending to push it. That's the way you sounded when we took off. Jimmy goaded you to try it anyway. Yup, I could see you trying to slip out of it. ;)
Jimmy - Started the first quarter too fast, but brought it under control and set it on cruise the rest of the way. Nice splits, and ahead of pace.
John T. - That last mile got away a bit, but it is uphill. I think you're still battling the effects of having been sick in the last week. Once the lungs come back, the splits will even up.
Sandy - These splits illustrate the point we were trying to make regarding even effort. Once you blast a hard mile and go anaerobic, there is no recovery. A smart target for you next week would be 8:45-minute pace. How do I know? That's right about where your average was overall. Slow down the first mile to go faster.
That's another way of looking at this, gang... compare your first mile to your total run average. If they vary by more than 10 seconds, you were probably too aggressive mile one.
Finally, compare the growth of those that ran both recorded tempos. A very attainable goal is to drop 5 seconds per mile each week. Over three miles that gives you a 15-second improvement every week on your time. Especially the first few weeks, this is relatively easy to do. And, once again, the easiest path to improving for most newcomers is to slow that first mile down.
No comments:
Post a Comment