The Need For Speed
Yesterday I only needed to run 1.6 miles to make 35 miles for the week. Since the distance was so short, I decided to see what pace I can run it at and maintain. I started out at about a 7:15 min/mile, but that was obviously too fast I had to walk after about 0.25 miles. I continued to experiment and I found that a 8:30-9:00 felt like a pace I could maintain for a 10K race and even that might be pushing it.
I was rather disappointed. After almost 6 months of pure base building and aerobic running, I was really hoping I could run an 8:00 min/mile pace for 10K, but it doesn’t seem as though that’s something that’s going to happen anytime soon. In order to qualify for Boston, I need to run a full marathon at a 7:37 min/mile pace!!!
I need to do some research as I’m not sure what I should do next. Should I continue doing pure aerobic running for the next several months? Should I start to introduce some speed work? I’m hoping to start my marathon training program for my December marathon at around the end of June. That give me 4 months to try something different. I’m leaning towards continuing to build my mileage and see if I can get up to 50 miles/week and maybe that aerobic base will allow me to run a bit faster.
The other disappointment with my trying to run faster is that my right knee was hurting! When running slow, it hurts a bit, but is manageable and even stops hurting later in my runs, but at the faster pace, I was limping when I was done.
February 19th, 2007 at 12:20 am
being a new runner I cannot give you any advice but I can tell you that I am here for you and will be encouraging you now matter what plan you follow
February 19th, 2007 at 9:12 am
I wouldn’t be too worried about your pace, it’s just a sign that you need more speed work. I would include some 1000m intervals into your training once a week. This is where you run 1000m at slightly faster than your 5km race pace with a 60 second rest. Add a 15 minute warm up before and a 15 minute cool down after.
With your knee, I would definitely get that checked out, always remember to listen to your body. If there’s pain, there’s pain for a reason. Does the pain start immediately or does it build gradually?
February 19th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
I did see 2 specialists about my knee, but they were a waste of time (and money). The pain “seems” to be getting better over the last 4-5 weeks as it seems to hurt less and less.
On my normal training runs, my knee starts to hurt after about 3 miles, but then stops within a couple miles so if I’m running 5 miles or more, by the time I get to the end of my run, my knee feels fine.
I’ll follow your advice on the intervals once my knee will allow me to do that.
February 20th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
HIlls Hills Hills - one solid hill workout per week, another day of speed intervals and you’ll see the change!