Speed Work

As any runner can probably attest to, I became obsessed with two things: my mileage and my 5K time.

As I ran more, I found myself getting drawn in to the competitive aspects of racing.  I would get pissed if I finished 4th in my age group.  It was frustrating and I'll be honest, I wanted the stupid medal.  More on this topic some other time.

The mileage thing was one of my biggest problems and I still face it today.  For the past two years, while making my New Years Resolutions, I have set goals of yearly mileage.  Last year I fell a little short and this year I am behind and it is only May.  One of my problems is that when I set these mileage goals, I get so fixated on it that it consumes me.  So instead of doing a different form of cardio, I only focus on running.  This means I have eliminated the following: weight lifting and road cycling.  Those two things being eliminated have really caused me to be unhappy with my workouts.  Running is not enough.  More on cycling and weights later but I am trying to incorporate these more because it is a much better balance.

Balance is key here and I definitely am NOT balanced.

The speed work thing was something I was encouraged to add to my workouts.  I am fortunate to have access to two tracks and one of them is a stones throw away from my house.  The use of the track is a daunting task and many I talk to hate it.  But if you are looking to increase your speed for a better finish, in my mind, there is no better way to do it than a speed workout.  You can google a lot of the speed drills if you are interested.  I will list my favorites and some of the ones we make our cross kids do.  They can be brutal but they help, for sure!

The ones I like best are...

1 mile warm up for each and a 1 mile cool down for each (if you want to do less miles, reduce the warm up and cool down to 1/2 a mile)

1. Pyramid: 1 x 200, 1 x 400, 1 x 600, 1 x 800, 1 x 600, 1 x 400, 1 x 200
2. Mile repeats x 3
3. 800 repeats x 4 or 6
4. 400 repeats x 12
5. 1 x 200, 1 x 400, 1 x 600, 1 x 800, 1 x 1200, 1 x 1600

The goal is to set a time that you want to run your 5K in and shoot for that.  i.e. if you want to run a 21:30 5K.  Count on it taking 30 seconds to do the .1.  So divide 21 by three miles and you get a 7 minute mile.  That is your goal time.  If you are doing 400 repeats (#4) then you need to run 1:45 400's (All I did was divide 7 minutes by 4).

Personally I take a couple of minutes between the sets and catch my breath.  Some people like to run another 400 between sets at a much slower recovery pace.  The great thing about speed work is you can modify the workout to make it work for you.