Goal: 8 miles at 7:30 min/miles (8 miles in 1 hour)
I read somewhere recently that it takes between 10 days
and 2 weeks for speed training (intervals and such) to have an effect on your
overall speed. I can’t remember where I heard this but I can remember being
surprised that it happened so quickly. I always assumed that building up your
speed took months of slogging and practising paces and running round the track
in fast loops like a hamster on a wheel. I wasn’t quite sure how you knew when
you’d reached the right speed. Maybe they’d bring people with pompoms out or
something.
However, I now think the interval training takes effect long
before that. I think it starts immediately after a successful session – if not
during. That moment when you think, “Bloody hell! I just managed to run a 6
minute mile pace!” And because you’ve done it once, you know you can do it
again. So you do.
It was a bit like this for my run this evening. It was down
on my training plan as 8 miles at 7:30 min/miles. This sounded fast. However
this week I didn’t overthink it. I’d done 7 miles at this pace last week – I
knew it was possible. And because I knew it was possible, it was a much easier
run.
Last week I’d felt as though I was fighting the whole way to
keep the pace at 7:30 and pushing every step of the way. This week, it felt
more flowing, more comfortable, more possible.
I even hit the heady heights of a sub-7 minute mile briefly,
but that was because I was listening to Running With The Kenyans again and got
a bit carried away with one of the race reports. Maybe I should listen to race
reports during my own races as they always make me run a bit quicker. Maybe
I’ll never run with the Kenyans in real life, but in my head I’m matching them
step for step.
Distance: 8 miles
Time: 58:39
Average Pace: 7:19 min/mile
speedy gonzales!!!!! :)
ReplyDeleteMeep Meep!! Oh no ... that's Roadrunner isn't it! :)
ReplyDeleteariba ariba!
ReplyDeleteHa ha!! Maybe I should get a sombrero like that mouse!
DeleteEIGHT MILES IN AN HOUR?????????? [jumps of the roof...]
ReplyDeleteHa ha Jen! Absolutely under no circumstances are you to jump off any roofs! Especially not now you're back running again!! :)
Delete