Slowly Getting Faster

This is my first run in a week.  I came down with a nasty sinus cold and that, coupled with finals, kept me inside all week. I got sick of sitting around though so now I'm back.  I wanted to do more than 5 but thought it wise to get back into it easy. Or at least sort of easy

This run wasn't really easy though. I did the first mile at an 8:45AP then had to make up the difference over the next 4 miles.  Since the TM i run on will only let me run for 40 minutes before stopping, I like to try and squeeze in at least 5 miles.  at the 1 mile mark I upped the speed to 8:00 per mile and kept it there until I hit 20 minutes. At 20 minutes I started running intervals of 1 min at 6:39 and 2 min at 8:00.  I did that for 10 minutes then took the machine back to 8:00.  At 35 minutes I took the speed up to 7:30 pace, then at 32 I took it up to a 7:00 min pace and at 39 minutes I took it up to 6:39 again for the last minute.  I was tired and sweaty when it was over but it was good to be back at it.

TM again.  Instead of killing myself on speed 2 days in a row I shot for elevation this time. I started with an easy 8:34 pace and kept that all the way through.  I began my elevation at 2.5% grade and stayed there until 20 minutes in.  At that point I upped the elevation to 3 for a minute then down to 2.5 for a minute, then up to 3.5 for a minute then back to 2.5, then up to 4.5, etc.  I repeated this until I got to a 5% grade.  Then I backed it off to 2.5 and held that until the final 5 minutes.  At 35 minutes I went to 4.5%, at 37 I went to 5%, at 38 I went to 5.5%, and at 39 I went to 7%.  I was surprised that I didn't have to lower my speed, especially on that last minute, but I maintained the 8:34 until the end. It would have been nice to get in more than 4.75 miles but the TM will only let me go for 40 minutes.

In the end my total elevation gain was just under 800'. 

On the TM again.  The yellow air day and the cold kept me from wanting to go outside. The TM is getting old. I hope the inversion clears by the time finals are over. 

I planned on doing 6 miles today even though it meant stopping and restarting at the 40 minute mark.  The gym was pretty empty and no one was in line so I didn't think it would be an issue. I did the first 4.2 miles at 8:34 per mile then had to stop for an urgent bathroom break.  When I returned  I decided that I should do 1.5 as fast as possible with a .3 medium effort jog to warm back up.  I did the .3 at 8:19 pace then upped the speed to 6:39 pace.  I did the remaining 1.5 at that pace.

I noticed something tonight that I haven't noticed before.  I think I realized this due to the fact that I was on the treadmill.  Unlike the road, where I run as fast as I can talk myself into until I get to tired and ultimately slow down, on the TM I am forced to keep moving fast for as long as I leave the speed turned up.  After the first half mile I began having a hard time getting my foot to land properly.  I don't mean that my form was bad, but rather I couldn't quite close the mental gap between how fast I needed to move my leg to get it underneath me before I stepped down again.  I didn't hurt myself, or even break stride, but to me it was quite noticeable how difficult it was to make my brain and my leg work together. 

I have read a lot of stuff in the last few months about the importance of neuro-muscular training along with aerobic conditioning but it has never been more clear to me than it was tonight.  Aerobically, I was fine at the 6:39 pace but had I kept going at that pace for any longer than I did I would have hurt myself simply because I was loosing the ability to control the speed and coordination of my legs. So I guess the point here is that if I want to get faster than I am already, and especially if I want to do so sooner rather than later, I should get back on the treadmill and teach my legs how to move that fast. Clearly it is going to take some practice.

One other thing I noticed tonight, though this has nothing to do with me.  When I first arrived at the gym I picked a TM and started stretching next to it.  One machine to my left was a woman (20's probably) wearing Vibrams.  While I stretched I watched her run and I noticed that every time her foot came down it came down heel first. It was painful to watch, almost like she was trying to land on her heel.  I'm not sure how long she had been doing that but she stayed for another 10 minutes and left.  I'm a fan of minimalist shoes because I think it can teach a person how to run correctly, but I am amazed at how someone can be conscientious enough to buy those shoes but know that the whole point is to train yourself to run correctly.  I guess that's the point of all the McDougal hatred I've heard lately, though I don't think that it's his fault or even his suggestion.  

Nothing interesting tonight.  I wanted to do the workout that Broaddwg told me about today, but figured I better give myself an easy day before pushing it again. 6.2 on the treadmill at an 8:34 pace the entire way is not nearly as interesting as that workout would have been though. Hopefully the rest will pay off tomorrow. 

Broaddwg TM workout tonight.  I mixed it up a bit by doing a 2 mile warm up on the indoor track then 4 x 1mile @ 7:30 pace on the TM and 2 mile cool down back on the track. I didn't think I could maintain the 6:39 pace for the mile repeats and I'm expecting my MP to actually be somewhere around 8:15 to 8:00 AP.  Based on that I figured 7:30 was a good pace for the repeats.  

I didn't quite make my milage quota for the week but since I missed Monday due to illness and still got 30 miles in I guess I'll consider it a successful week. Hopefully with the end of finals I will be able to have time to more miles in next week.