7:04 pace for 2.8 miles? All it takes is a little math

On August 11, 2010 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 2.8 miles at 8:59

Once again I managed to squeak under the 9:00 per mile threshold for my early morning run. While I haven’t been all out sprinting during my runs I have been putting a lot more effort into the process. It makes me wonder how far I could really push it without my heart rate moving into dangerous territory. 8:59 makes me happier than 9:00 but, regardless, that pace range was characterized as “pedestrian” in an article I recently read in a running magazine. How insulting! I may run at a pedestrian pace but according to other articles I’m really much faster than that. Based on what I’ve also recently read, here is the Emerging Runner Guide to rationalizing your pace:

1. Every 5 degrees above 60 adds 20-30 seconds per mile to pace
@ 75 degrees (3 x -15 seconds) = 8:59 – 45 seconds = 8:14

2. Every 10 degree difference above 60 at the same relative humidity = 35 seconds per mile
@ 75 degrees (1.5 x 30) = 8:14 – 45 seconds = 7:29

3. Age compensation (compared to fit 20-something runners) and 4:00 AM start time
Lets just subtract another 25 seconds…

Using the above guide I see that I’d actually achieved an average pace at 7:04 per mile this morning. How about that?! I guess I’ll need to work a little harder or find more formulas to get me into the 6:00 range.

Running to the edge

On August 4, 2010 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 2.5 miles at 8:59

I don’t know if I’d call it running fast but I am definitely running with more urgency this week. Instead of falling into my normal pace I’ve attempted to push myself a little harder, enough to feel like I’m running and not “jogging.” My expectations for performance are lower in the early morning, especially when it’s hot and humid. Most of the time my pace at 4:00 AM averages about 15-20 seconds per mile slower than when I run at 8:00 AM. I also run slower in the summer months and the combination of these two factors has put me into the mid to high 9:00 range for most of my weekday runs. After reading some recent articles in Runner’s World, Running Times and Men’s Journal about performance and race training I decided to break free of my default morning pace and run with a constant focus on speed and form. I’m not pushing past my comfort zone but I’m traveling on the edge.

The temperature on the local station said 75 when I went outside but I immediately sensed that the humidity was back in full force. Ignoring that, I set out quickly and managed to keep my pace brisk over the first street that goes slightly uphill before it connects to another road that descends at about the same rate. I noticed that, despite the humid air, the moderate temperature and the lack of sun made for decent running conditions. I pressed on experimenting slightly with my stride and form. I followed some different roads to alleviate the tedium of always keeping to the same streets and that made it interesting. The new route helped distract me enough to maintain a fairly energetic run.

Throughout the run, I concentrated of front foot landing which was not that easy in my Brooks but I managed to land that way more often han not. I also tried to get more lift on my ascending leg while keeping my stride shorter to increase cadence. Sounds pretty technical but it translated to a decent time, just barely under 9:00 minutes, better than almost any other run I’ve done of late. This weekend I’ll be doing a longer run in preparation for the Dirty Sock race and I don’t plan to incorporate any speed technique for that. Tomorrow and Friday I will continue to push to the limit — and hopefully push those limits even further.

Out and back route (slow version)

On July 28, 2010 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street) 2.35 miles at 9:45

I have a speaking engagement today and that usually means skipping my morning run in favor of an even earlier start. Today’s talk is at noon so timing is not a factor. I did consider resting today because my sleep was interrupted by a midnight telephone call that turned out to be a wrong number. When I got up I felt no worse for wear and headed out on what was still a reasonably cool morning. I’ve been mixing up my routes as much as I can in the morning and today I ran some selected streets until my Garmin signaled that I’d reached a mile. I ran another fifth of a mile, turned around, and retraced my route back to where I’d started. I can’t complain about my performance unless I do some speed work to improve my pace. Still, I was really surprised that I ran as slow as I did today because I felt like my form was good and my leg turnover seemed quick. You can’t argue with Garmin and Gmaps though. Either way, I’m glad I ran this morning instead of taking the easy path and resting. There’s something to be said for that.

Hooray! Another excuse for being a slow runner

On July 24, 2010 By Emerging Runner5 Comments

Today’s run (street): 4.4 miles at 9:47

The morning runner’s lament

I was reading the current issue of Men’s Journal and saw an item saying that the ideal window for working out is between 4PM and 8PM. I’d read that before and assumed that it didn’t apply to “morning people” like myself who may have their ideal performance band earlier in the day. This item dismissed that notion saying that it’s 4-8PM, case closed. The item also stated that early mornings were the worst time to achieve high performance during exercise or competition. That makes some sense to me because I generally run slower at 4 AM than I do at 10 AM. I’m sure it has something to do with body chemistry, oxygen levels or the activation of slow and fast twitch muscles. I’ll admit it made me feel better for the string of 9:30 to 9:54 runs I’ve been doing over that last few weeks. Prior to reading that I’d blamed the oppressive heat and humidity. Now I just have to point to Men’s Journal to excuse myself for being so slow.

After realizing that I train during a sub-optimizing time I started thinking about what that really means. What if I run 4 miles at 9:47 at 7:00 AM on Saturday and the next day run at 4:00 PM averaging 9:15 per mile? Am I a better runner on Sunday? Is there a physical benefit to running faster with (conceivably) the same level of effort? I’m not so sure and I’m thinking that it doesn’t matter except on race day. To that, if all competitors start at 8:00 AM don’t we all share the same advantages and disadvantages? I’m thinking the 4-8 PM performance window is definitely more about competition than conditioning.

I knew before I started that this morning’s run would be arduous. The temperature should peak at 97 today and while it was only 88 degrees when I went out at 7:00 the sun was baking and the air was soupy. I was pleased with my Brooks Rev T shirt that manages sweat so well (along with my Adidas shorts). Eventually everything became soaked but I was happy to get 4+ miles out of the way without succumbing to the brutal heat. I called it a run when my heart rate started to climb past 80% of max and I really wanted to shower and grab a quick nap. Instead I guzzled some low sugar Gatorade that I’d picked up on sale last week and I chased that with a quart of water. I think I’ll need to go out even earlier tomorrow if I want to avoid those conditions. Perhaps the weather will be better than today’s. I wasn’t worried too much about performance today and that’s good because it wasn’t great. I don’t care — now I can blame a poor showing on the time of day.

Mid-foot running is great but where’s the speed?

On July 7, 2010 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 2.6 miles at 9:32

Stepping out in the Kinvaras for this morning’s run reminded me why real running shoes, even lightweight minimalist ones, serve an important purpose. I did well with my pool shoes on Sunday and had no residual aches or pains after my run but my feet felt far better during today’s run in the Sauconys. The Kinvaras are almost flat between heel and front foot but they aren’t built as low to the ground as some other lightweight trainers. The slightly higher platform allows for a little more cushioning and provides a comfortable ride. My longest run in them so far was 5.5 miles but I have no concerns about doubling that distance (except, of course, for my own limitations). It’s interesting that I’ve lost a lot of speed in the last couple of months. My first runs in the Kinvaras were under 9 minutes per mile. Now I’m averaging closer to 9:30 miles most days regardless of the shoes I wear.

It was 85 degrees and humid when I started my run at 4:05 AM today. With no sun and a slight breeze it wasn’t bad. For some reason the Garmin foot pod always over-counts distance on the Kinvaras, probably due to the flatter angle of the upper compared to my other shoes. This translates to faster paces on the FR60 display and more distance captured. I always check my route against Gmaps to find the margin of error and saw that the indicted distance and pace (2.67 mile & 9:18/mile respectively) were overstated by 3%. I can rarely tell while running at 4 AM whether I’m tracking mid 9:00 miles or high 8’s so I’m often disappointed (and occasionally delighted) when I calculate based on Gmaps. Regardless of pace or distance I got out there in the heat and covered some good ground while reinforcing my mid foot striking style. The speed will come. I keep telling myself that.

Hard to be fast when you’re lazy

On June 22, 2010 By Emerging Runner3 Comments

Today’s run (street): 2.5 miles at 9:35 per mile

Things felt a little off today as I began my run. I had no complaints about the weather and I didn’t feel particularly tired. I just didn’t feel in rhythm with the process, either physically or mentally. Although this was my first run after a rest day my legs felt inflexible and heavy. It was almost as if I was wearing ankle weights. The other analogy that fits is the feeling of being tethered to a weight that inhibited my speed. I tried to up my pace a couple of times but overall I defaulted to the rate I could sustain. Fortunately I’ve had enough experience running by now to know that unsatisfying runs sometimes happen and that bad runs are often followed by good runs. I’m hoping that will be the case tomorrow.

After a few weeks of very good performance that followed my receipt of two pair of lightweight Sauconys I have definitely moved back to averaging mid-9 minute paces. I want to break nine minutes consistently so I have to decide how serious I’m willing to get to add some performance training to my routine. Although I’m dedicated to my schedule I’m actually a lazy runner. It’s rare that I push my speed during my training runs. It works for me because I almost always enjoy myself when I run but I also get frustrated with my lack of progress on speed. I read an article on Active.com this morning about using track work to gain speed that can be applied to distance running. I need to decide how serious I am about making a focused effort to improve. The only practical time to do that is on the weekend and I’m reluctant to give up a slot I reserve for longer runs. Perhaps I can do 20-30 minutes of running and then switch to speed work as the article suggests. Sounds worth a try.

Consistently inconsistent

On May 20, 2010 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Today’s run (street): 2.45 miles at 9:07

I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand why some runs are faster than others. I know a person who has run the same 4 mile loop for years and can usually predict his finish time within 15 seconds. I may have opened a can of worms by suggesting that he throw in some tempos to bring down his overall pace. He did that and now he’s got a different perspective. Up until that point, the run itself was the accomplishment. Now, after all this time, he’s concerned about pace and performance. Did I do him a favor in helping him get more out of his runs? Or did I contribute to a mindset that replaces the joy of running with the obsession of metrics? I also told him he should think about getting lighter weight shoes for a performance bump. What have I done!?

Of course it’s not the shoes that make you faster. Or is it? Since switching over to the Saucony shoes last week I’ve had noticeable improvement in my pace, often beating my usual times by 20-30 seconds per mile. With nothing else to explain it I had to guess it was the shoes. After three runs in the 8:40-8:50 range I assumed I had moved to another stage in my running. I’d no longer be a 9-something pacer. The new normal is 8:45 and further improvement starts there. This morning I went out feeling good, equipped with the fast Kinvaras on a clear cool morning’s run. My pace felt steady and strong. At the point where I thought I’d covered a mile my Garmin said .78 miles. I felt like I was running well but I wasn’t covering the ground at the rate I’d assumed. I questioned whether the Garmin was properly calibrated because I had switched it from my Brooks this morning. Ultimately, I finished with an overall pace of 9:07 that is typical of runs at that time. I continue to wonder why the range of performance is as wide as it is. I don’t have any problems with today’s performance. It’s just that with all my tracking and even with the new lighter shoes, inconsistency is the only constant.

Saucony Tangent 4: Fast and comfortable

On May 17, 2010 By Emerging Runner1 Comment

Saucony Grid Tangent 4

Today’s run (street): 2.45 miles at 8:40 per mile

After two runs in the Saucony Kinvaras I’m starting to believe that a shoe can really make a difference in performance. The Kinvaras are extremely light and have very little drop-off between the heel and forefoot. This makes mid foot striking easier than when running in a shoe with a higher heel. I closely track my performance and although I’m a 9 minute miler in spirit I’m more of a 9:10-9:20 miler in practice. So what am I supposed to think when I put together two consecutive runs under 8:50 per mile? Could I have improved that quickly — or is it the shoes?

That’s the question I asked myself this morning when I set out for a morning run wearing my new Saucony Grid Tangent 4’s. These are lightweight stability shoes that feel very good on the foot. Despite the light weight there was decent cushioning through both the heel and front foot. I took off and immediately noticed how quick they felt, my pace was more like a tempo run although I didn’t feel as though I was working that hard. But at 4:00 AM things can be deceiving. I’ve done runs at that time that felt fast but weren’t. I expected the same today but finished with an average pace of 8:40. That’s 5K race pace for me and almost unheard of at that early hour.

It may be too early to say for sure but these lightweight shoes from Saucony really deliver speed. I like the Kinvaras for the mid foot landing and the Grid Tangents seem sturdy enough to be a regular trainer for people like me who have a lighter build. So what’s to become of my beloved Brooks GTS 10’s? No worries, there will always be room for them in the rotation. They just may need to wait a little longer for their turn.

I relay want to go fast

On October 12, 2009 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

We’re getting closer to race day and all I can think about is getting through this week. Between budgets and industry presentations I’m very oversubscribed. At least running provides a good channel for dissipating stress. My work colleague, whom I’d mentioned in Saturday’s post, ran the Baltimore half marathon in an impressive time despite her leg injury. I’ll need to ask her how close she kept to her race strategy. I’d be thrilled to come anywhere near her pace in the relay.

AG gave me race info today (she’s the team captain). We got our race number and lots of other info about race day. I’m thinking about going out fast (for me) for my first leg since it’s only three miles. I’ll have 90+ minutes to recover before my second leg. AG is planning to pace me on the six miler and that will help because at that point I may have trouble motivating myself. She will be running about 11.5 miles in total. Almost half a marathon and I’m worried about doing nine! Of course AG has previously completed three half’s and is a far more experienced runner than her teammates. That’s why she’s the captain!

My plan tomorrow morning is to get out and run some tempo paces. I read in Runner’s World that decreasing distance (during tapering) while increasing speed/pace is an effective way of improving performance on race day. With the early morning cold temperature a little fast running will be a great way to keep warm.

Speed or comfort – choose one

On August 28, 2009 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Due to weather and a fairly tight schedule I skipped my workout today. So far this vacation week (since Saturday) I’ve logged 22.5 miles with 6.2 coming from last week’s Dirty Sock 10K race. I’m supposed to run the trails tomorrow with my nephew who is on the local track track team but they’re calling for rain so we’ll likely need to postpone that. If that’s the case I might work in a run a little later or get on the elliptical for the first time in a couple of weeks.

I was hoping to run some intervals today because my speed has been suffering and I’ve recently read in Runner’s World that speed work can be helpful for building endurance. While I have no problem getting out and running, even during hours that people consider more as night than morning, I have been less than stellar in terms of rigorous conditioning. I suspect that’s the reason why I have hit the wall in terms of progress on improving my pace. I know that being a committed runner involves different runs for different reasons. Sometimes it’s about speed, sometimes it’s about hills and sometimes it’s about endurance over long distances. I’ve defaulted to running at a natural gait which appears to be around 9:30 per mile although I know I am capable of sustaining a sub-9:00 pace over four or five miles.

Some of the reason for this default is likely due to a change from running with AG on a weekly basis to primarily running alone. AG is a stronger and faster runner and though she’s never chastised me for my pace I was more inclined to push myself when we ran together than I do when running alone. Another factor is the temperature and humidity. Heat has always affected my performance and, combined with the glaring sun, it can be debilitating. As the summer wanes and the cooler temperatures return I suspect my pace will return closer to 9:00 and below. In the meantime I am committed to working harder to push my pace regardless if I’m running alone or not.