I think the shiny new MacBook might also have something to do with my desire to start up the blog again. ☺
So, this was supposed to be my second official week of the FIRST training program, but unfortunately, two exams in one week derailed that plan. I was supposed to do my second round of FIRST speedwork last night (5x800 meters, with 400m rest intervals), but I just didn’t have the time with all the studying I had to do. So, I settled for a quick jaunt around Lake of Isles. Here are the stats, courtesy of the Garmin:
Run time: 25:37 (not a record, but not bad)
Run distance: 2.75 miles
Average pace: 9:19
Best pace: 8:33
Calories: 351
Rest time: 0:00
Rest distance: 0.0 miles
No walk breaks! Yay. That was the primary goal, just get out and do Isles and move my legs.
Heard on iPod shuffle:
“Possession” Sarah MacLachlan
“Good Life” Weezer (I love Weezer…)
“Both Hands” Ani DiFranco
“Fast Car” Tracy Chapman
“Original” Sheryl Crow
“C’mon, C’mon” Sheryl Crow
Seems like a lot of songs for 25 minutes…
So, here’s a bit of background on the FIRST training program—this program was developed by exercise scientists at Furman University, through the Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training. They were profiled in the August 2005 issue of Runners’s World, and have recently published a book called Run Less, Run Faster. What a catchy title, eh?
I did a lot of thinking late this summer and early this fall about how I could get faster. I truly believe it is in my physiological make-up to run a 4 hour marathon. But how to get there? I was doodling around on Amazon.com one day, looking for books, and this one caught my eye.
To briefly summarize, their training program is based on the belief that 3 targeted running workouts and 2 days of aerobic cross-training is what you need to get faster. A lot of this was developed as the authors trained for triathlons, so they recommend swimming and/or biking as your cross-training. The 3 “quality workouts” are speedwork, a tempo run, and a long run, all at a prescribed and challenging pace.
The program is a far cry from the 6-days-a-week-10-miles-a-shot Hanson Brooks program I was considering last spring, and probably much more realistic, given my schedule with work and school. But so far, I’m loving it. Right now, I’m just working on the 10K training program. It’s 12 weeks long, and I figure that it’ll help me keep my base up over the winter and early spring. The longest long run is 10 miles for this program, and I’ll do that 3 times. I’ll be in good shape to start half-marathon training in February, and then marathon training in June. The prescribed paces are definitely a challenge, but even from week to week, I’m getting better. The paces don’t seem quite as hard, and I’m recovering quicker between speed intervals. I’d also like to wean myself off of walk breaks for the tempo runs, but I don’t want to get cocky.
The prescribed paces are all based off a 5K time. I don’t really have an exact one, so I estimate my 5K time to be 28:00 now. With that, I have to aim for 2:05 for 400 meter repeats for speedwork. For tempo runs, I have a short-tempo pace (9:18), a mid-tempo pace (9:33), and a long-tempo pace (9:48). All long runs are done at the long tempo pace. I’ve been talking walk breaks on my tempo and long runs, but the actual running portion is spot-on for the pace.
I’m hoping this FIRST program works out for me. So far, so good. It’s hard to get used to running only 3 days a week, but it’s giving me more time for yoga. I’m not doing the swimming or cycling that they recommend for cross-training; instead, I’m trying to do more vinyasa-style yoga, so my heart rate is still somewhat elevated. I’m considering getting a bike trainer for the winter; otherwise I’ll just start biking when the weather warms up next spring.
Side note for any runners or want-to-be-a-runners out there—read “Marathon Woman” by Kathrine Switzer. It is one of the most inspirational books I have ever read in my entire life. Her story of Boston and her subsequent work to get the women’s marathon in the Olympics is amazing.
What is Garrison Keillor says in his podcasts? “Stay well, do good work and keep in touch”? Yeah…now I must return to the visceral reflex arcs of the autonomic nervous system.
posted by Lola @ 5:47 PM
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