A Lean and Hungry Look

Good run. I, too, have learned the hard way about doing speed work off the track. I don't think the 8th one should count! Then you stayed pretty even.

Thanks, Kelsey. I know what you mean about speed work away from the track. It seems to pay off in races, but it can be depressing sometimes! I have to admit that I was tempted to lie about that 8th split, though.

Doing intervals with Garmin can give you a spoiler just from the device error alone. I've measured quarters in 2:43 while running normally on more than one occasion. And once I hit several quarters in 70 at the end of TOU. I was only running 6:00 pace or so. So you may just as well just guess how fast you are going from HR and call it good.

Sasha, I've never had trouble using my 305 for splits. I don't find the pace display terribly accurate in real time (and rarely check it during workouts or races except at mile splits), but for splits it seems pretty consistent with my biological speedometer (maybe I've just calibrated myself to the device, who knows?). The only issue I've had is with HR, which on rare occasions shows me hitting as high as 200+ bpm, presumably due to electrical interference. I do like to run without the device sometimes, but not on speed workouts. Because I don't train consistently year in and year out the way you do, I can't gauge my pace very accurately, particularly when I'm in a training phase (like right now) where my performance is improving each week. In today's workout, for example, had I guessed my pace based on perceived effort, I would have pegged my splits at 15-20 sec/mi slower than the Garmin had them. I like the results the Garmin gave me so I'm going to rely on them! It's an interesting point, though. I'd be curious to know what others think about it.

I use landmarks when I do speed. They do not move no matter what.

I just realized that my comment contradicts itself. What I really mean is that I trust the Garmin over my biological speedometer because when I've been in a consistent training pattern, I've found the splits on my Garmin consistent with my biological speedometer. I'm working back into that phase now, so I rely on it more heavily than I will in a few months.

Sasha, the speed work I'm doing right now is time-based, not distance-based. That's why I have to rely on the Garmin. Plus, I'm not a numbers guy like you and don't like calculating pace!

Another thought. If your natural sense of pace tells you the effort is right, that is how fast you should be going regardless of the measurements.

And one more. If you are out of shape, it is better to build base than do intervals. The reason is intervals improve muscle power and neural drive. Base improves the aerobic function. When out of shape, aerobic function would be quite a bit behind the muscle power and neural drive. So a speed session becomes useful mostly from the aerobic perspective, being worth the distance you are covering in the workout. Not much happens in the neural drive/muscle power department because you lack the fitness to push it. But you could cover a greater distance if you ran slower, and you would be able to go the next day the same distance as well.

Thanks for the tip, Sasha. I should clarify that I'm exactly not out of shape. I did spend several months building an aerobic base. However, I hadn't done any speed work for over 2 years until March, so I'm just starting to get back to a place where a 5:30 pace feels something close to what a 5:30 pace used to feel like. In the first few weeks it felt like a 5:00 pace used to feel. But your point is well taken. Thanks.