Addressing my need for more speed

My experience today

Today's run (street): 5.1 miles

I'm back into a three day running cycle and I ran in the neighborhood yesterday and today. My morning schedule was tight, so I needed to get outside early. Fortunately, it was still relatively cool and (bonus) not as humid as Friday. I had no route or distance in mind, but I did want to cover at least five miles.

Like yesterday, I started with good energy and tried to establish a faster pace from the start. It seemed a lot faster than it was. I still find it curious that putting in the same effort compared to a year ago will typically yield a 30 sec/mile slower pace. I'm not planning on doing any races before Dirty Sock, so I'm not really upset about that. Still, I'd like to gain that time back if I can.

Tomorrow the Runsketeers will get together for our first group track workout. I look forward to seeing how fast these two speedsters can run when they don't need to reserve energy. I'm not going to be able to cover as much distance tomorrow as I would on a typical Sunday, so this week's mileage total will be extra low. But track miles are quality miles. If I can figure out a way to add one more workout a week to my running schedule, I can get back to pre-commuting weekly volumes.

Training slower but racing faster

Today's run (street) 3.55 miles

One thing that I've learned this year is that the speed I usually run isn't the same as how fast I can run. This year I've observed two things that don't seem to correlate. First, my average training pace (by observation, not by studying my running logs) has slowed down about 10 seconds per mile. The other observation is that my race paces have improved noticeably in almost every race this year compared to previous years.

I'm not sure what this means but it may have something to do with the quality of my training runs that may be a bit slower, but have more focus. The legendary running coach Jack Daniels said "Every run should have a purpose" and I try to follow that philosophy with my daily workouts. If I need to prepare for a hilly race I try to run hills. If I ran hard the day before, I look to run my next session easy to speed up recovery.

The true explanation for my slower training - faster race pace may be far more simple. Since I started using my Garmin FR210 GPS watch, my mileage is usually under-recorded between 2-5% which makes my pace look slower. When I bother to map my true distance using Gmaps, I see that variance. If I don't, I tend to accept and believe that I'm running slower than I actually am.

I got out around 8:30 this morning after debating whether I should run or do a core workout and (possibly) an elliptical session later. My legs were tired so I considered the lower impact option. But the weather was cool and the skies were clear so I headed out the door thinking I'd take it easy and not worry about my pace.

The run was easy, in fact I slipped into a few periods where I was so lost in thought that I felt like I was sleep-running. I focused on opening my stride but I didn't think much about my speed. When I finished my run I was surprised to see that I'd averaged slightly more than 9:00 a mile. That's not particularly fast, but the pace was about :40 per mile faster than it felt. Perhaps all the racing I've done of late has helped in my daily training. That almost 9:00 minute pace was a nice surprise. Sometimes a slow run feels fast, and a fast run feels slow.

Speed is not important if the run feels fast

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

It was easier getting out the door this morning than I had expected. My first run after a race can be a bumpy experience with the residual soreness from exertion peaking 48 hours later. I took off feeling like I was moving well and free of any pain related to the race. I assumed that my speed would be better than average for a 4:00 AM run because my legs were used to fast turnover. After checking the Garmin I saw that wasn't the case, although the run felt fast.

Last week at this time, I was feeling down about my running. I go out nearly every day, do base training runs, hill runs and occasional speed work. Despite this, I had been feeling like I wasn't gaining any speed performance from my routine. After Sunday's run, I now understand that my level of fitness is greater than I'd thought. Today I ran well, but not especially fast. That's okay. Right now I know I can access the speed when it counts.

Running difficulty? It's mostly in your head

I reached a point in both my runs this weekend where I thought "Gee, this is hard." But when I thought about it I couldn't really identify the thing that was making my run feel difficult. I wasn't having trouble with my breathing or my knee. My legs were beginning to lose energy but they weren't painful. I realized that the run felt hard because I had covered a certain distance and assumed that's how I should be feeling.

The mild discomfort I felt after four miles of steady pacing was nothing compared to the "I just want it to stop!!" feeling I'd experienced during last Sunday's half marathon. I tried to think about how I'd felt four miles into that 13.1 mile race. Four miles represented only 30% of the distance I'd prepared to cover, while on Sunday it represented my full distance. Had I previously decided to run five miles instead of four would my discomfort have started later? It's clear to me that the hardest part of running (until you reach your physical limits) is preventing a perception of difficulty from undermining a good run.