Speed Training for Runners – Part 1

Next month, I am going to head out to Boulder to take part in a training program so that I can be a certified run coach. I am super excited about it, and have been reading every running book I can get my hands on to prep. I figure that I’ll be in a room full of super smart running experts, so if I’m already aware of the major philosophies and plans people use, I will be prepared to ask better questions that will allow me to compare and contrast the programs. I have to admit that, initially, attending this program was all about helping MYSELF become a better runner. But, the more I learn, the more eager I am to use this information to help others reach their goals. I really believe that what I am learning can help everyone become stronger, faster… and less injury prone… runners.

At Power of Run, I recently created several small Facebook groups by interest so people can get help with goals and training. What I’ve found so far is that many people start with a solid program like Couch to 5K to get started running. Then, once they are running more than walking, they move onto one of the online programs like the Jeff Galloway plans (also very good). Many of the plans found in magazines or online are just the “sound bytes” though, the quick overview of that coach’s individual philosophy… so some of the things that take a runner from being good to great are glossed over online. There’s typically a speed day, a tempo day and a long run day, and the plan spells out daily and weekly mileage goals. And, that’s all fine and dandy… until you hit a plateau and are no longer reaching your goals.

I’ve spent a lot of time talking with other runners about running and endurance and speed over the past few weeks. Among the people I’ve been talking with, I see a few things missing from their plans. I’m going to create a series of blog posts out of this, so today, I will focus on SPEED TRAINING.

1) If you want to be faster, and once you can complete the 5K distance, one training day should be devoted to speed.

2) Speed work does not mean going all out. There is a science to how you improve speed (which I will get into another time), and this involves running at a challenging pace– but not at a pace that will leave you unable to complete the prescribed number of intervals, or at a pace that will leave your body so exhausted it compromises the effectiveness of your next scheduled workout.

3) To calculate the pace that is effective for making you a faster runner, you will want a current 5K race time. If you have not run a 5K recently, you will want to time yourself running a 5K distance. To make this even more accurate, you could also time yourself running a 5K, one per week, for 2-3 weeks, and average the times. Speed work is considered a key workout, one that takes a lot out of your body. Since it’s not an easy workout, you don’t want two speed days back to back– which is also why you would not time your two 5Ks in the same week. RECOVERY is a big deal when it comes to getting better!!

4) Now that you have your 5K time, go to the McMillan calculator online (They also have a great iPhone app called McRun that will do all the things the online version does for free. It all depends on if you want the info in your pocket or not!) Notice that the McMillan calculator can also calculate off a 10K, half marathon or marathon time. This works too, but your true 5K pace will be most accurate for training purposes if you plug in the 5K pace.

5) On the tab to the right on the online version of McMillan, you will see a tab that says “training paces.” Click on that to see the paces you should be running every type of training run. Note the 400 and 800 speed paces. Sticking to these pace ranges helps your body to adapt. Resist the urge to go faster. The ranges are part of the science of helping improve things like VO2 Max and lactate threshold.

6) Next, we take that number and apply it to some speed drills. Let’s say you run a 33 minute 5K. That would put your 400 meter goal at 2:16-2:24.  If you are new to speed work, you want to start with a manageable number of sets and add one set each week.

A sample speed day might look like this:

10 minute run/walk/jog warm up.

Run 400 meters at your 400 meter training pace. Walk/jog 400 meters.  Repeat 2 times. Build up to a total of 10 repeats per training session, adding one or two sets per week.

10 minute run/jog or walk cool down.

Some of the books I have been reading include:

You, Only Faster by Greg McMillan,

Run Less, Run Faster, which is a Runner’s World book by Bill Pierce, Scott Murr and Ray Moss. This one also has a great iPhone app to calculate training paces,

and Hansons Marathon Method by Luke Humphrey

I love them all! They all say the same basic thing about speed and quality runs. The McMillan and Hanson plans are based on higher run mileage. McMillan bases his on time on feet, where Hanson is mileage based. Both focus on the half or full marathoner.

Run Less, Run Faster has intense runs and high mileage long runs… but incorporates cross training, which would be hard to fit in if following the others to the letter. RLRF would be a good fit for someone who wants to continue moderate triathlon training while training for a marathon. And, this book also has 5K and 10K plans, as well as longer distance plans.

Hanson never does a 20 mile run, but the plan is all about running on tired legs. It’s high mileage and won’t be easy.

I will write more about each in the coming weeks, but also wanted to let you know about these excellent resources that will help you with your running! What about you? What plan do you use?

Runner Acts of Kindness Weekend

When I chose the name “Power of Run” for this blog and Facebook page, it was a play on the phrase ‘”Power of One,” the power ONE PERSON has to make a difference in the world. Each of us has the ability to change the world… one tiny action at a time.

While every day is a gift, and an occasion to be kind, I’ve declared this weekend “Runner Acts of Kindness” weekend. I hope you’ll join me in finding little ways to brighten the weekend of the people who cross your path.

If you are racing, you might:

1) Thank the volunteers and course officials as you run by.

2) Throw your water cups in the trash cans provided.

3) High five a child cheering on the course.

4) Leave a positive note or comment on the race’s Facebook page.

5) Offer encouragement to someone who is struggling.

6) Cheer for runners after you’ve finished your race.

Throughout the weekend you might:

1) Put away your phone and pay attention to the cashier as you check out.

2) Send a note or text to a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while.

3) Tell your mother (and your friends’ mothers) how much you appreciate them. (Um… it IS Mother’s Day weekend, after all!)

4) Write a cheerful message in chalk on your neighbor’s driveways

5) Give your crossing guard a gift card for coffee or snacks.

6) Pay for the person behind you in line at Starbucks.

7) Hold the door open for someone.

8) Strike up a conversation with a random stranger.

9) Mow your neighbor’s lawn.

10) Make a donation to your favorite non-profit.

11) Bake cookies for a friend.

12) Plan a social event.

13) Invite someone over for dinner.

14) Donate blood.

15) Give a movie gift card to the person behind you at the theater.

16) Leave a great book at the park and include a note.

17) Be a good listener.

18) Be compassionate.

19) Cheer for a friend’s accomplishments.

20) Leave a cooler of bottled water on a trail/path used by runners and walkers in your area.

I’m sure your ideas are much, much better!  For additional ideas, see my Random Acts of Kindness Pinterest Board.

This is the last weekend to buy “I Party… ” shirts. I will place orders on Monday. We are taking orders for 3.1, 6.2, 13.1 and 26.2 shirts. Women’s and men’s tech shirts, both sleeveless and tees. All proceeds from the shirts benefits Compass, a non-profit providing family support and foster care services in Nebraska.

Power of Run Shirts

I’d love to know what you chose for your Runner Act of Kindness! If you stop by the Power of Run Facebook page this weekend (5/10/13 through 5/12/13 at 6:00 p.m. central) and share your Runner Act of Kindness in the comments for the Runner Acts of Kindness graphic (pinned to top of page), you will have a chance to win one of the “I Party…” shirts.

Be Kind! And have a great weekend!

You have the POWER to change the world!

Power of Run Shirts

Today was like Christmas for me. When I started Power of Run almost 1 1/2 years ago, my vision was to create a community of runners who would come together to do small things that impact the world in big ways. I didn’t have much more of a plan, except that I wanted to sell running shirts and donate the proceeds to charity. I started the Power of Run Facebook page. I watched our community grow. And, then busy mom things took over my life, and that’s all that happened… until recently.

A year ago, I had a friend create this t-shirt design for me. Again, life got busy. (Plus, finding a printer, and getting pricing and setting up an online store was more than my brain could handle at the time.) So, I did nothing.

I still had this vision of selling shirts and donating the money to a non-profit. And, I had the perfect organization in mind. And, I wanted to wear this shirt when I run the Lincoln Marathon this Sunday. So… I finally kicked myself into gear.

And, I’m SUPER excited. I hope you are too!

Here’s the deal:

I  have a limited number of men’s and women’s 26.2 shirts IN STOCK NOW.

The 3.1, 6.2 and 13.1 designs are at the printer waiting for your orders. As I mentioned, I’m donating ALL proceeds (that’s everything after my cost to get the shirts, and the cost to ship them to you) to a non-profit each month. Because I am not making a cent, I don’t want a bunch of inventory. I will open orders up for two weeks. At that time, we will place the order and ship the shirts.

Since this is my Lincoln Marathon month, this month’s proceeds will be donated to a Nebraska non-profit. Compass provides foster care and family support services in Central Nebraska. Their mission is to help youth and families successfully navigate through life by providing programs and services that emphasize personal growth, foster healthy relationships and promote connections to the community. Compass was founded by an old friend of mine. Several of their employees are also runners and follow the Power of Run Facebook page. (Hi, guys!)

The people at Compass all care about the youth and families they serve. They are passionate about what they do, and they are making a difference in their community and in our world.

Each month, I will donate to a different non-profit. I already have the next few in mind, but if you have suggestions, I’d love to hear from you.

IN STOCK NOW- Women’s “I party 26.2 miles at a time” tech T and tech tank (you can see the cut in the picture above.). Plus, Men’s “I party 26.2 miles at a time” tech T. Unfortunately, I had a little misunderstanding with my printer, and the men’s sleeveless is actually a tank and it is 100% cotton. If you are ordering, please read carefully so that you order the shirt you want… because I do have the men’s tech sleeveless listed for pre-order, in addition to the 100% cotton shirt.

TO ORDER: follow this link to the online store. Orders are processed via Pay Pal, but you do not need a Pay Pal account to order. Your statement will say Power of Run.

What am I forgetting to tell you? Let me know what questions you have!

Goals and Dreams: MTV’s MADE & You

My 15 year old has an interview with MTV today for their reality TV show, MADE. MTV is conducting casting calls at high schools around the U.S., and selected my daughter’s high school as one of the schools they’d visit. The premise of the show is to tell MTV what you want to be “made” into, and they will help you make it happen.

Anyone who knows Abby knows she wants to be a Broadway actress. She isn’t shy about broadcasting her dreams to the world.

Yesterday was the deadline to turn your application in to secure an interview slot with the MTV casting directors. The kids turning their applications in at the school office were buzzing with excitement.

The big question, of course, is “What do YOU want to be made into?”

It was surprising to both of us how few people were willing to put themselves out there and let their classmates know what their dreams were. “It’s kind of … personal,” one girl replied. Early in the day, a few kids claimed to have second thoughts, but by bed time, phones were blowing up again with news of which kids followed through.

Apparently, there are lots of people walking around in the world with secret dreams. The talk last night reminded me a lot of High School Musical… the cool cat who wants to be on the stage, but who doesn’t want to be made fun of (And who was actually told by an instructor early in his theater life that he would never amount to anything! Who says that to a kid?!) Kids who want to be actors and models but who don’t have the self confidence, training or support to get there. And, I’m sure many more stories of teens who want to be something other than what society is telling them they can be.

No matter how it all shakes out, I hope they choose someone from our school. It will be an interesting season to watch for sure!

The whole thing made me think about runner dreams. There are so many people who want to get into better shape, but  who can’t or won’t take that first step. The excuses pile up. We all have important things that compete for our time: jobs, family, school, church. But we also have lots of places we can cut a little more. We make time for the things that are important to us.

Whether your goal is to start walking, run your first 5K, run a marathon, jump into triathlon… or qualify for Boston, as I’ve heard lots of people say in the last two weeks… there are a few things key to making it a reality:

1. Set the goal. Write it down. Make it visible. I saw a great picture this week of a guy who wants to qualify for Boston. He wrote his qualifying time on a piece of paper and taped it to his mirror and took a picture of himself.
2. Determine the training or steps it will take to make this goal a reality. Remember- baby steps. It won’t happen over night.
3. Take action. Once you know what it takes, commit to the plan, and take the necessary steps every day. Some days will be tough, and you will get discouraged. Pick yourself back up and keep on trying.
4. Make your goals known. You have to be careful with this one. You probably don’t want to share your most personal dreams with people who are going to mock and undermine you. But, you will need support. You need people around you who will lift you up and remind you that YOU CAN DO IT! It’s also great to have someone on board to help keep you accountable and on track. (I would have never made it to the start of my half Ironman last year without the support of some great friends!)
5. Find the experts. If you’re embarking on something new to you, you’ll probably need instruction of some sort: a coach, a mentor or a teacher. If one-on-one or group coaching is not possible for you, turn to books and the internet. (Runners can find tons of support and information online! From form, to fuel, to footwear… it’s all out there!)

Maybe it’s because one of my children is at that age where she has a very clear vision of what she wants in life, but I’m a big believer in dreams. It is not up to me to judge whether her dream is possible. I’ve found that most things in life are possible, if we are willing to persevere. To be a writer, to be an actor, to run Boston, to lose 50 or 100 pounds… anything is possible when we have an eye on the goal and NEVER GIVE UP. There will be days when you are ecstatic… followed by days when you come crashing down to earth. There will be days when the victory seems impossible because it’s too far off.

Dream big. Enjoy the ride. And persevere.

 

 

 

How to Race Like the Pros

Reblogged from Kearney Runners:

It's race week in Nebraska! Lots of Kearney Runners are gearing up for the Lincoln Marathon and Half this weekend. There are many first timers in the group (GOOD LUCK!) and many who have chosen to take on bigger challenges shortly after this race is over. (WOW!!) To help you this weekend, and in future training cycles, here are some tips that will help you run like the pros.

Read more… 771 more words

Lots of people find Power of Run via Google searches about carb loading. I wrote a lot about that last year when I was messing with my diet and trying to nail down my fueling strategy. Here's a post I wrote for a running group in Nebraska. It has lots of race day tips... and has a link to a solid article with three methods for carb loading. Happy racing and training!

Sometimes it’s not the goal, it’s what the achievement represents

I’ve talked quite a bit about the three half marathons I ran the last two weekends. The sub-two hour half marathon has been a big goal of mine. When I crossed the finish line on Saturday, and finally achieved that goal, the time suddenly didn’t matter, and I was a little crushed that I didn’t feel the big rush I expected as I crossed the finish line.

Upon further reflection, I realize I am pretty excited about what that sub-two hour half represents:

1) I am finally consistent! Two weekends in a row, I was within that range. I know I can hold a 9 minute pace for 13.1 miles.

2) If I could double that, I am within my Boston qualifying range. Now, the Runner’s World Race Times Predictor says I should run a 1:52 half to be able to pull this off… but I’m getting  closer.

3) Back in November, I was having trouble running at all, not because of injury, but due to stress, anemia and pure exhaustion. I gave myself permission to not care about results this season because I had my hands full with two sick kids. I’m very pleased with how my training has progressed. It was far from perfect, but I was out there getting in the miles. (And, we still have rough days and lots of doctor’s appointments, but the girls are doing much, much better… and are back in school!)

4) I made it through a full marathon training cycle without any major injury! This is so rare for me. Since I started running, I’ve had a lot of down time due to injury. I feel like I’ve finally learned when to run, when to rest and when to step back and work on the strengthening. This will be huge when it comes to training for the fall. (Yep. Crazy. Already looking to fall!)

5) Progress! All these things combined represent progress to me. It’s hard to not compare myself to my faster friends. I’m a bit competitive and obsessive like that.  I keep reminding myself that it’s all about improvement.

Considering the year I’ve had, I’m going to call the spring running season a victory, no matter how my full marathon goes on May 5th. I trained the best my life would allow, I made progress, and I have great friends who ran beside me, lifted me up and helped me keep on going on those days I didn’t think I could take another step, let alone help another person.

Life can get tough. But it does get better. Never, never give up.

Want a whole new race experience? Join the back of the pack!

Random runners at the start of the Kansas Half Marathon, wearing their Boston bibs.

Saturday, I achieved a goal I’ve been working on for a while now– to finally run a sub-two hour half marathon. That may not seem like a big deal to the speedsters of the world, but as I’ve said before, everyone you encounter on race day has a personal story and a goal. That goal may not be the same as yours, but we each have a very personal reason to run and a unique story.

On Sunday, I ran another half marathon, with the goal of replacing a 20 mile run with two back-to-back half marathons and running on tired legs. Since I achieved my half marathon PR the day before, I decided it would be a great day to run with a friend I seldom have the opportunity to race with. We set out with the plan to run an easy pace and to just enjoy the day.

And I am grateful for that. For one, it kept me from giving in to my tendency to try to be competitive. My upcoming marathon was more important than shooting for another two hour-ish half. I am very injury prone, and it just wasn’t worth jeopardizing my marathon. Beyond that, it gave me a chance to reflect on what Scott Jurek had mentioned the Friday before at the pasta dinner for the Garmin Marathon. He talked about the inspiring people at the back of the pack.

The course for the Kansas Half Marathon in Lawrence had a lot of hills… and lots of loops that had an “out and back” feel, where you could see the runners who would finish near the end (and those ahead of you!) running toward you. This race had porta-potty issues too (not nearly enough at the start… so we skipped them at the start… which becomes painful, and is something I will never do again   This is how we ended up waiting in line for 10 minutes (YES, TEN MINUTES!!) at the first aid station to go to the restroom. And, that is how we wound up running near the back of the pack.

But it was fun! It was a beautiful, sunny day. I was with a friend. We were running and talking, with no goal in mind.

I noticed that slower runners get a lot more cheers and encouragement. (LOVE THAT!!)

There were people of all ages, abilities and experience levels. They were talking, enjoying themselves and encouraging one another. They appeared to have found the joy in running and were focused on what they came for that day.

There were some pretty heavy people who were walk/running, and some of them appeared to really be struggling on this tough course. I was inspired by their determination. I wish I had stopped to take pictures with some of these people (Yeah… they would have loved that. Not.) THESE are the people who inspire everyone to do their best. “If this guy can do it, you can too.” BECAUSE THEY DID DO IT!! And, I don’t mean this to sound like any sort of judgement, other than to say… get out there, lace up your shoes. And DO IT. Follow these examples of people who are making their lives better and more meaningful through the power of running and fitness.

The pace group leaders are always amazing, no matter the pace. I loved (both days, really) how the pacers would come back and pick up the people who were near the back of their pace groups… telling the stragglers they were close to their goal, they could still come in at goal, to stick with them and they’d do it together. Running with a pace group is fun. You still run your own race, but it makes it a bit more social, like getting to the finish line is a team effort.

And, because I am talking about the fabulous pacers, I have to share a picture of the two guys who got me to my PR finish Saturday. I had a great 5.5 miles with the 1:55 pacer, running well below my normal pace with ease. But, when we hit the hills, I just couldn’t keep up, despite my massive hill running! I watched my average pace creep up and up and up. And knew I was barely gonna make it when I found myself running with the 2 hour pacer. At the end, he came back to get me… and I’m pretty sure he would have dragged me in by my elbow if I failed to catch up every time he reminded me to “get up here!”

My 1:55 pacer, Brandon

The 2 hour pacer who dragged me in!

If the back of the pack is where you usually run, I want you to know that, whether you think so or not, you are an inspiration. No matter where we finish, every runner has a goal and a dream. I know you sometimes feel self conscious, especially if you are just starting out. When I first started running, I thought everyone was pointing and laughing. Know that when other runners look at you, they see a fellow runner. And, they understand the hard work and perseverance it has taken to get where you are today.

Be proud of the story behind your miles!