kellc09's Mentor group - CLOSED (Page 22)

Actually, your HR zones shouldnt change too much from test to test.  If your Average HR is say 175 in your last 20 minutes of your test, if you improve this month, and run a couple of seconds faster per mile, if your giving it your all again, your HR will still be around that AHR 175. 

The goal is to have your Threshold get faster and faster without your HR changing too much, since for the most part, HR is fairly constant.  If your max is 180, thats still pretty much your max next month (assuming again that your going to complete exhaustion every time) So now where you could hold ex: 7:28 at a AHR of 175, with a month or two of work, you should be able to a faster pace at that AHR (maybe 7:23's for example sake)    However if you were to then go back and run your 7:28's, your HR should be lower at that pace since that is not your max pace anymore.

No problem, now get to researching ways to improve your LT, because 7:28 without speed training as you say you dont really, is very nice.  Id love to see what you could do with specific LT work

Welcome Back! Glad you had fun!

kkcbelle - 2009-02-09 8:21 PM

kellc09 - 2009-02-09 11:23 AM

kkcbelle - 2009-02-09 10:51 AM Got it, Kellie. Thanks for all of the explanations!

 

No problem, now get to researching ways to improve your LT, because 7:28 without speed training as you say you dont really, is very nice.  Id love to see what you could do with specific LT work

Ouchie!!! But that would be haarrrrrd!! And no, I don't do speedwork. I can count on one hand (maybe plus 1-2 fingers) the number of speed workouts I've done in my life. They're not so bad -- I actually like how short they are (good bang for the buck), but they're not something I do on my own and it's hard to coordinate with a group. But thanks for the encouragement, and I'll try.

Haha. yeah, it would be hard, and it would hurt, and you might puke, but Im still curious how much you could improve off that number that you got on minimal threshold and speed training

Glad you had a fun trip! Wow! 19 days... exciting!

Run question:

I've been thinking thatI should simply be building my endurance to start. But somthing Kyla said made me question that.

So, when you were beginners,did you all start by just focusing on building the distance? Or did you throw some faster work in (tempo or speedwork) right from the beginning?

what did Kyla say?  And what is your running background again?

Kellie and Kyla-This was the part of what Kyla said that made me question if I'm training right:

"When I started a tri class with my Y a few seasons ago, a woman with whom I now do tons of training helped me see that I was a faster runner than I thought I was. I've always considered myself the queen of the 10' mile... I was flabbergasted to see that I could do 8' miles (and faster) off the bike in a race."

Maybe what I should be asking, is: Should any part of my running work outs start to include more than just building up the mileage?

I signed up for the 4-mile race on 3/2, because I'm not pretty confident that I can reach that distance by then. But, I'd love to get down to a 10 minute mile SOON. I'm embarrassed by my times right now. 

How long have you been running and what is your normal mileage?

It can get confusing I know.  If you goal is longer distances, then running longer is what you want to focus on.   And not so much speedwork.  But its really relative on when to introduce faster running and is dependant on how long the person has been active, running, etc, and how well they recover since going long, and speed, can break you down a bit.

I've been running fairly consistently since last June. But I didn't run much in Nov/Dec. Right now I'm just under 3 miles. That should bump up to a 5K by the end of this week. The Oly I'm planning to do is the first week in August.

I'm starting the 20 week, run focused training plan on 3/15.  Does any of that info help?

Great ideas- Thanks. I think once I hit the four mile mark I might play with that a little to try to prep for the  race I entered on 3/7. I sprinted at the end of todays run, and it showed me that I definately could've pushed harder during the main run, because I had a lot to give at the end.

Heidi - you probably can run further just like I could probably swim further...it is a mental block.  It is great that you are increasing the distance despite your fear.  Maybe practice belly breathing while you run long and slow to see if that helps with your endurance.  That is what I am trying with my swimming. 

I signed up for the nutrition plan on BT.  I needed to do something else.  Everything I have tried has been a big failure.  I don't quite know why.  I am usually easy to commit to things... I am planning on pretending that I am in Olympic Village and that I have to eat for my training! Too bad I don't have a chef!!

I am letting my knee heal over the weekend.  I believe it will be better come Sunday!! I am keeping the faith!  I ice it and use Epson salts on it every night. 

So, did the bike fit help at all?

Yes, her suggestions are good.  Fartlek type workouts are good, and a good way to break up your run a couple days a week.   Strides or pickups are good to.   Basically every 4 or 5 minutes pick it up for 30 seconds, focus on your technique and stride, let it rip (ok not crazy VO2 max crazy, but get those legs and heart pumping), and then recover for 30 seconds.   This also can help with fomr a bit.  A lot of times we get very in our head about not running faster than we "should" for sake of injury.  So many people push the long slow steady pace talk in our faces that it can scare people from breaking out of that box.   If you run long slow and steady, you are training yourself to run long slow and steady.  Have to mix it up a bit if you want different results.  Plus, with all the slow and steady, alot of people can lose their natural stride, and that causes other issues.    Strides and pickups kind of help you correct that the whole run, without running the whole run all out.