Getting Slower to Get Faster

A.M. Track work at East High

The weather has been incredible this week. I never anticipated that I would running shirtless in in November to keep cool. Today may be the last gasp of our warm fall.

Warm-up,

Drills,

4 x 1200 somewhat hard (8/10) with 400 jog + stand recovery = ~4 min

1200 (peak HR): 4:33 (184), 4:32 (185), 4:23 (188), 4:19 (189).

This was a good workout, but I'm still quite a bit away from hitting VO2max (HR 198). I'd like to get closer to drive cardiovascular adaptation, but need to adjust to this type of work. Because of time, I couldn't train this system prior to SGM, but can push it a little more now. Subjectively, the effort was about right.

2 x 200 = 33.6, 29.7

Like the 1200s, these were in trainers. Based on the 29.7, which was at ~85% max effort, 25.xx may be possible for me right now IF I was running in spikes and against someone. Speed is not my focus right now, but this is worth noting.

Cool-down

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P.M. 21st East Loop+, Base I

Easy evening run in the soon to be gone for good warm weather.

31:22/3.59 mi = 8:17/mi @ HR 143 (Fastest yet at this HR)

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A.M. Weight = 178.4

A.M. 6 x 5 min AT intervals on Treadmill (same one as last time)

Interval	Pace	Time	Ave HR
1	7:13	5:02	165
2	7:13	5:02	165
3	7:08	5:07	166
4	7:08	5:02	169
5	7:03	5:03	169
6	7:03	5:01	169

Static on shirt pushed ave HR higher on 1st rep than in reality. HR on others jumping around a lot more today and I'm pretty sure it wasn't static. HR tends to exhibit greater variability with decreasing stress (this is medical fact) so it may mean I'm adjusting a little to this type of work. It also might mean nothing. We'll see with time.

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P.M. 21st East Loop+

34:26/4.01 mi = 8:20/mi @ HR 145

Felt pretty good. I'm getting used to running an hour after dinner. I got chased by a yapper dog. I stopped in my tracks, made my arms big and wide, and growled. It took off whining which I found pretty funny. My three-year-old daughter growls back when I do that. Can't say so much for the yap dog.

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A.M. Weight = 179.3

A.M. Speed work with the Black Sheep

I was pleased to wake up to 50+ degree weather and had a great workout this morning.  I can feel my body hardening up and becoming more capable of handling intense track work. Modest as it was, what I did today would have been impossible a few weeks ago.

My workout was 4 x 400, 4 x 800, 3 x 400. I ran my last 5 400s tucked in behind Chad and Josh, and sagged several seconds off of Brad on the 800s but ran the last one with him. The group finished with an 8th 400, but I opted out because I would have had to cross a line that although capable of crossing, would be unwise for me to cross in training right now.

Warm-up jog, warm-up 800 w/ accelerations on the straights (~3:31).

Rep	Distance	Time	Peak HR	Recovery
1	400	~84	179	1:01
2	400	82.6	184	0:57
3	400	78.6	187	1:10
4	400	78.6	186	1:00
5	800	2:55	186	2:16
6	800	2:52	186	2:30
7	800	2:49	188	2:32
8	800	2:41	190	2:28
9	400	75.6	186	1:24
10	400	73.0	187	1:13
11	400	71.9	187	N/A

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A.M. Weight = 177.9

A.M. Easy 7 mile run w/ 3 laps around Sugar House Park. My legs were a litle stiff and tired from yesterday, but not really sore. The 3rd lap, which was the fastest was 8:43/mi @ HR 145.

While running through the park I passed what seemed to active sprinklers watering the snow-covered grass. "A nice display of government waste" I thought, slightly let-down after the high of Obama's win. The sprinklers were making strange noises, and upon closer inspection, were expelling a lot of air with a little water. I was perplexed, but then noticed a trunk with a generator hooked up to what could I thought could be an air-pump. I think park maintainance staff were blowing out the sprinkler system to keep pipes from bursting when the ground freezes.

P.M. 21st East Loop very easy.

I don't mind running in the cold. I actually like it. What I don't like is ice. I stepped on a few patches tonight and was lucky to keep my balance. When the ground gets icy like this pace on training runs inevitable slows. I'm surprised it was as fast as it turned out to be.

8:47/mi, no HRM.

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A.M. Weight = 179.1

A.M. 8 x 5 min AT intervals w/ ~1 min rec on treadmill at Field house. 7/8 at 7:13/mi with HR ave = high 160s. Felt so-so.

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A.M. Weight = 177.9

A.M. Easy out and back along Foothill. My legs are pretty tired.

Out: 8:56/mi @ HR 148

Back: 8:04/mi @ HR 146

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A.M. Weight = 178.4

A.M. Speed work at East High.

Warm-up, drills, warm-up 800 in 3:09.

8 x 200 w/200 walk + stand (full recovery)

34.0, 32.2, 32.3, 32.0, 34.2, 31.9, 32.5, 30.6.

I ran not so much for speed, but focused on running tall and relaxed and aligned with a powerful back-stroke.

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A.M. Weight = 176.3

A.M. Easy Base I on treadmill. Moved into Base II right at end.

6.23 mi/53:11 = ~8:25 pace ave post wu @ HR ~148.

Last 4 min = 7:53/mi @ HR 155

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A.M. Weight = 179.0

A.M. 20 minute LT run on treadmill.

I had intended to workout with the Black Sheep this morning but overslept so I went to the Fieldhouse with the intention of running 6 x 3 minutes hard (8/10). I wanted to ease in to my first interval so I started it at 6:40/mile. My body liked it so I just kept going at that pace and after 5 minutes decided I would hold it for 20 minutes and make it an LT run. I felt really good and my HR came down very quickly during the cool-down.

Ave HR for:

0-7 min = 170 (take a few minutes to come up),

7-14 min = 174,

14-20 min = 175.

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P.M. Jog to car, then 21st East Loop @ high Base I

.25 then 3.62 mi = 8:19/mi @ HR 151

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A.M. Weight = 177.6

Base I/II out and back along Foothill.

Will fully log later.

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A.M. Weight = 176.6

A.M. 16 x 200 w/ 200 jog.

So, my wife is out of town, the kids are in bed, and I have nothing better to do. . .

Rep	200 on	Ave HR	Peak HR	200 Off	Ave HR	Peak HR
1	42.2	160	172	1:17	161	174
2	38.6	164	176	1:21	161	178
3	37.2	166	180	1:20	167	182
4	36.8	170	183	1:29	165	183
5	36.8	170	184	1:25	168	185
6	36.4	171	183	1:25	168	184
7	36.8	169	183	1:30	166	185
8	36.5	168	183	1:35	164	184
9	36.5	166	182	1:28	166	184
10	36.0	169	183	1:28	169	185
11	36.8	171	184	1:29	168	186
12	35.6	169	185	1:39	165	186
13	36.7	167	182	1:34	167	185
14	35.9	170	184	1:38	166	187
15	35.0	170	184	1:38	170	187
16	33.6	173	187	1:37	171	188

Workout was 8/10. The short-short pattern kept it hard aerobic without a big lactate spike.

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P.M. 21st East Loop+

3.91 mi, 8:23/mi HR 145

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A.M. Weight = 176.5

A.M. Base I/Base II w/ laps around Sugarhouse.

6.20 mi @ 8:09/mi, no HRM

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A.M. Weight = 178.2

A.M. 3 x 400 Hard at East

Warm-up, drills, warm-up 800 in 3:11

400s with full recovery: 66.4, 65.5. 64.8 (1 lap walk +)

2-4 second positive split on all. I consistently started out quick and very relaxed and came through 200 in 31-32 then fatigued quickly over the last 200 (especially considering how good I felt during the first half). Weather permitting I'll drop back down to 200s next week and increase the speed one stop. I'd like to bring my 400s down to 57-58 for a workout like this. Gone are the days of 54s, but I'll see how close I can get again.

I feel strongly that for 99.9% of the population this type of work is essential to maximize performance in distances at least up to half-marathon. Its the only way for most of us to train our whole complement of muscles fibers. If you are Haile Gebreselassie and run your LT runs at 4:30/mile, which is ~67 seconds/400, and run 10 x 800 in 2:03-2:04, then it is less important because you are recruiting a fairly large percentage of your muscle with standard aerobic training. For the rest of us, we don't do standard aerobic training anywhere near these paces. So, to make up for it, we run hard reps. This 1) makes these fibers more functional during aerobic workouts and races, 2) increases the maximum output of the nervous system and slows its aging, 3) increases muscle and tendon strength, 4) increases glycogen storage in these fibers so they can serve as a fuel depot even when not working, etc., 5) functionally increases core and stabilizer muscle strength, 6) increases running economy, 7) decreases body fat by a) increasing basal metabolism, and b) increasing secretion of myokines that promote leaness (ever wonder why sprinters have lower body-fat than distance runners?), 8) increases beta-adrenergic receptor density on the muscles so that a) the same level of catecholamines from perirpheral nerve endings acts with greater potentency to increase contractility and b) the same level of contractility requires less circulating epinephrine from the adrenal glands which results in less systemic stress, etc.

These sessions can be done year round and do not destroy or degrade or otherwise impair aerobic and oxidative ability. They can be harmful if done wrong. A few key rules to follow are: 1) Warm-up very, very well, as if for a race 2) Avoid all tension that does not contribute to forward movement, 3) Get in and get out = if at the start of the nth rep you have no spring or snap, then the nth-1 rep should have been the last one (your last rep should be the fastest and you shouldn't be going all out, just very hard).  4) Recovery is a minimum of 5 minutes between reps, 5) Do these sessions no more than once a week for most of the year, 6) The subjective trumps the objective = the watch is secondary to how the workout should feel.

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P.M. 21st East Loop+

4.80 mi/40:12 = standard loop portion @ 8:04/mi HR 148 + 1.5 miles at end w/ laps around block @ 7:51/mi @ HR 150. Fitness is improving.

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A.M. Weight = 178.2

A.M. To Sugarhouse Park w/ 2 laps + 2 laps around block at home to reach 6 miles.

~8:10/mi, no HRM

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A.M. Weight = 176.8

A.M. LT run on Treadmill (the same one I usually run on)

I ran the first half at 6:40/mi and HR was a little lower than last week so I increased the speed to 6:31/mi for the second half. I took splits every ~5 minutes to get HR data.

Split	Time	Pace	Ave HR
1	5:02	6:40	169
2	5:05	6:40	172
3	5:03	6:31	175
4	5:05	6:31	177

HR gradually rose during split 3 and then seemed to level off at a true steady state. I felt like I was right on the line for my true LT. During my recovery jog, HR dropped down to 147 BPM 73 seconds after finishing.

On another note, I think the speed on this treadmill is awefully accurate and reflects what I would run on flat ground. I have a strong fan constantly blowing at me to keep cool. I think the chronic headwind negates the treadmill "tailwind" effect and make the pace legit.

I ran 4 x ~50 meter acclerations upstairs on the track. These felt great. In fact, I felt something I haven't felt for 9 or 10 years. Its hard to explain to anyone who has never done sprint training, but when you are sprinting relaxed and effortless, your knees pop up from the elastic rebound of your leg striking the track. You always hear sprint coaches say "lift your knees" etc. So you see people trying to crank their knees up high to run faster, but its forced. In contrast, you know your doing it right when your knees seem come up on their own as your legs alternately strike and then bounce up from the track. You'll feel it in your hamstrings too.

Right now my training is going pretty well. I'm working hard and making progress but am not overtraining. I think the cumumlative benefit overtime of proper training is the acquisition of "running skill." The last few week I've felt a fluidity in my stride that I haven't felt for years and what I felt this morning is more of the same. I'm not as fast as I used to be, but my mechanics and coordination are starting to come back and I think that is the ultimate precursor to regaining competitive form.

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P.M. Very easy 21st East Loop.

Standard portion was 8:59/mi @ HR 140, then four laps around the block cutting down from ~8:40 per mile with last lap just under 8 minute pace at HR 152.

4.74 miles in 42:27.

Running doubles 3x/wk seems to be working for me. I think the marginal benefit of increasing my second run from 30 to 40 minutes is significant without a large cost so I'll try to push out to ~40 minutes regularly. It took me 30 minutes today just to get in the zone enough to run a decent training pace. It usually take 10-15 so by going 40 I'll increase the real training portion of my runs 50%+.

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A.M. Weight = 177.9

A.M. Run through campus and out to the avenues.

I was headed out for a run along Foothill but then saw Chad and Josh coming down 13th South and decided to run with them. They are in better shape than I am and consequently their very easy pace is a little faster than I would normally run, but it wasn't too bad.

The 5 miles with them were at 7:39 pace (HR 157), overall about 8 minute pace as I slowed significantly climbing the big hills to get back up on the bench. I used to think the hill going up 13th South was big. I went up another one, maybe 8th South, that was longer and steeper. I'm on the track tomorrow morning.

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A.M. Weight = 176.4

A.M.  4 x 3 minutes hard/3 minutes recovery on treadmill.

I went to the Fieldhouse and found the big treadmill occupied by a big fellow lumbering along watching TV. So, I ran another treadmill for a half hour to warm up and the big guy was still on the big treadmill, so I started the workout where I was and tried not to get annoyed by the regular slipping of the belt.

The first half of the first rep as at 6 minute pace and the second half was at 5:30 pace. I ran the next one all at 5:30 pace, and then the big guy finished his workout (he looked pretty tired for a long time and was sweating profusely so I thought "he has to crack any minute now", but I'll give him props for sticking to it). After switching treadmills, I ran the next one at 5:30 pace which felt better because the belt wasn't slippling. HR just barely reached 190 which means I'm still not hitting max oxygen uptake. So, not wanting to make this workout super hard, but wanting to push HR a little more, I decided to run 5:30 pace for the first two minutes of the final rep and then drop it down to 5:00 pace. The acceleration was very manageable and HR just blipped up to 194 right after I finished the rep. Maybe next time I'll drop it to 4:40-4:50 to make sure I max. It was ~198 a few months ago, but maybe with a few months training it has dropped a few bpm (this is common, but not certain).

Anyway, I'm pleased with the workout. The fact that I have to drop to at least 5 minute pace to reach or get close to max is a good sign because it means my legs have a long way to go to catch my carviovascular system and, therefore, I am nowhere near a plateau.

Rep	Pace	Ave HR	Peak HR
1	6:00-5:30	175	183
2	5:30	180	189
3	5:30	180	190
4	5:30-5:00	182	194

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P.M. 21st East Loop + Laps around block

40:06/4.84 mi = 8:02/mi @ HR 148 for standard loop portion.

Fastest yet at this HR, in some pretty good wind no less.

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A.M. Weight = 176.9

A.M. Out and back along Foothill.

Ran fairly easy and felt light on my feet. No HRM, but I would guess I averaged in the low 150s, so mostly Base I. 

(On another note, I had a rare encounter with courteous cyclists (yes, they do exist)).

Out = 8:27/mi

Back = 7:38/mi

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A.M. Weight = 177.4

Workout #1 (~Noon): 5.75 x 200 at East

I went into the lab early to start a couple of experiments and give the temp a chance to rise because I would be doing some faster speed work. I've run a lot of 200s in the 32 sec range and went 8 x 200 last time. So, to keep in line with a systematic progression, I decided to run 6, but run them a little harder. 29s and 30s seemed reasonable although I would have accepted 31s.

Warm-up, drills, warm-up 800 = 2:59, a few hard accelerations.

200s w/ full recovery

30.2,  30.3,  29.4,  29.4,  29.5, on track for 27? but then pulled up.

I ran the first 4 in my road flats and then put on track spikes for 5 and 6. I was putting a good effort into all of these but was recoverying pretty well and definitely had one more gear. I decided to open up a little on the 6th one and felt great coming off of the turn. About 150 in I felt a twinge in my right hammy and immediately shut it down. I think it just cramped, and that I backed off fast enough to avoid pulling it. Needless to say, I jogged home at just under 11 minute pace as it was very touchy and felt like it was still locked in slight contracture. I iced it as soon as I got home and it doesn't feel carmpy anymore but is a little sore.

When big muscle like quads and hamstrings are aligned with the forces put on them, they are amazingly resilient. Most injuries happen when they not lining up the right way. I've felt a little out of alignment this week and will take extra care over the next few days to try and even myself out. I think an evening run probably won't happen, but I haven't ruled it out completely. I'll see how it feels around 8 or so.

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A.M. Weight = 177.0

A.M. Regeneration run.

My hamstring is very sore and tight, but its clear I didn't blow it out. I ran ~2 miles at 12:00 minute pace just to warm it up and get some blood moving through it and try to get it to relax. If there is one thing I've learned about injuries, its that complete rest for all but the very worst is a recipe for disaster. I think its best to run as soon as one can while letting pain be a guide as to how fast or long to run. Exercise stimulates muscle growth and repair and increases nutrient delivery many-fold. It also keeps muscles and tendons from getting short and tight. I had Andrea grind it out with her elbow after. At first she could barely touch it because it was so tender, by the end it had loosened up substantially and she was able to go deep with a lot pressure, a good sign.

A.M. Base I run on treadmill at Fieldhouse.

My hamstring is still tight from Saturday. Its also tender from yesterday's grind out, but overall is feeling substantially better. I started out at 12 minute pace and slowly increased the speed. After 20 minutes I was down to 8:13 pace (HR 150) and stayed there for a few miles, and then ran the last mile at 7:53 pace (HR 156). Once warmed up, my hamstring was pain free and I was able to run with a normal gait and rhythm.

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A.M. Weight = 179.1 (clearly retaining water)

A.M. Workout with the Black Sheep

My hamstring is doing better, but definitely not 100%. The group ran 4 x 400, 4 x 600, and then 5 laps of speed changes. I hung back and ran the 400s and 3 600s with John, all about 6 minute pace, which was very comfortable. I could feel my hamstring on most of these but it continued to loosen up throughout the workout. I ran the last 600 harder and accelerated over the whole rep to almost catch Josh (who ran everthing fast) at the end. That one was in 1:56 = ~5:07 pace--this was faster, but still wasn't very hard for me, probably because I ran the first part of the workout easier.. While the group ran speed changes I just ran a steady pace and settled in at about 6:45 pace for the last couple of laps, definitely low LT as I was very comfortable.

Overall effort, 6.5-7/10

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A.M. Weight = 177.5

P.M. Run along a river trail in St. George. We're down here to spend Thanksgiving with Andrea's family. I'm stiff and tight from the drive down, but eventually settled into 7:45/mi pretty comfortably. My hamstring was a non-issue. However, both of them are sore because I tried a new hamstring strengthening exercise John showed me.

A.M. Another run along the river trail in St. George. I started out very slow and then settled into ~7:35 per mile on the way out (up a very slight grade). I turned around and after a mile or so decided to run at 6 minute pace for a couple of miles and ran a 2 mile segment (down a very slight grade, but with lots of winding turns and in my trainers) in 12:05 (6:07, 5:58), and then jogged in. The 2 mile stretch was hard running and uncomfortable, but I could have held it for quite a while longer in a race. I'd say it was probably 10K pace, maybe just a little faster, but definitely slower than 5k pace.

A.M. Arose at 4 am to drive down to Las Vegas and climb Griffith Peak with my brother-in-law Jon. We took a 4-wheel drive road to the trailhead at 8300 ft where temps were in the high 20s or low 30s with a few inches of snow on the ground. The rising sun would quickly warm things up. We wound our way through interesting rock formations and bristlecone pines covered with an icy glaze. The snow deepened to 6-8 inches as we continued to ascend and reached the summit of 11,060 at about 1 pm. After enjoying our view and taking some pictures we embarked on a well-paced descent and reach our vehicle 2.5 hours later. Overall, a very pleasant winter ascent of a southwestern peak with visually interesting scenery and stunning vistas at the summit.

A.M. Easy run with Andrea.

Overall I'm only mildly sore from the hike (soft snow saves legs on descents). We ran the first 2 miles at 10 minute pace and then slowly cut down the pace and ran the last mile in 8:30.