according to an article in the September 2009 edition of Running Times. Greg McMillan, author of the article, defines endurance monsters as any runners who enjoy “long runs, marathon training, tempo runs and any workout slower than 10K” (p. 18). Yup, so far I fit the profile. He goes on to say that a monster “finds it very difficult to get her legs to go fast. Short, fast training like 200m-400m track workouts and hard fartlek runs leave EM feeling deflated” (p. 18). Yup, got me again–and today’s speed workout really emphasized my speed weakness, and my preference for strength and endurance workouts.
I haven’t been able to do speed work consistently over the past 2-3 months due to a bought of hip bursitis caused by the wrong type of running shoes. (As a side note, this experience with over-cushioned, motion control running shoes has led to a new fascination with barefoot running – but that will have to be another post for another day.) So, this morning was my first day of speedwork in several weeks. While I usually prefer mile repeats, I thought that the distance might be a bit too aggressive, and opted instead to ease back into it by doing 800 meter repeats, with a 400 meter recovery in between each one.
Here’s a bit of a synopsis of some of the random thoughts I had while doing this oh-so-enjoyable workout:
- why did it have to be so #$%@ hot?
- Why is 400 meters such a short distance?
- Why is 800 meters so far? It’s like 5 times further than 400 meters – how is that possible?
- Why isn’t my Heed (energy drink) having any effect?
- This song sucks–I need to make better playlists.
- Oh, god, can I finish this one?
- What if I just did 4X800 meters – is that enough?
And on and on, leading me to the conclusion that clearly I am not a speedster, which McMillan descibes thusly: “Track workouts, fartlek runs, and short races get speedster excited and leave him fatigued but not trashed.” Nope, not me. By the middle of the day, I was feeling trashed, which was unfortunate because it was a busy day at the Community Foodbank–and I probably wound up running another few miles filling food orders. (My endurance kicked in and helped me here!)
Before I ran, I also did some swimming speedwork. After a warmup in the pool, I swam 12X100 yard sets (25 yard pool), with each 25 yard length a different intensity level: 25-easy, 25-build, 25 easy, 25 hard. I’m not a terribly impressive swimmer. I’ve been lapped by pretty much everybody except the woman who does the doggie paddle. I was even passed one time by someone doing the backstroke. Yikes! (Turns out, she was a competitive swimmer for MIT, so I didn’t feel too bad when I found that out.) I first learned how to freestyle swim (for exercise purposes) in March of this year. So, my speedwork is very simple, as I’m still trying to build basic endurance for swimming, which has improved. I’ve worked my way from being able to swim about only 10 laps continuously to swimming continuously at a moderate pace for about as long as I can stand before giving up out of boredom. (Sorry to the swimmers in the crowd, but I just don’t like it very much.) As with running, I am an endurance swimming monster because I don’t like to go beyond a comfortable aerobic pace. I like my level 3 aerobic heart rate very much, thank you.
But, if we don’t change our pace and training goals, we’ll get stagnant. And eventually, even endurance workouts would not be as enjoyable as they once were. So, I grudgingly accept that speedwork is good for me. Regardless of the workout goal – speed, endurance, strength – training teaches us to adapt, to learn how to deal with situations that don’t allow us to take advantage of existing strengths, to learn how to build upon our weaknesses. I could have taken the easy way out today. Who would have known or cared that I only did 4X800 meter repeats instead of 8×800 meter repeats? What was there to stop me from slowing down to make sure I could easily complete the distance at a pace I felt comfortable? Yet, a failure to adapt to challenges, to adversity clearly proves disatrous in the long run. For training, it means that I will not be prepared for the many unknowns that wait for me on the race course.
In this sense, triathlon and marathon training offers a lesson for other aspects of life and the many unknowns that wait for each of us as we move from minute to minute and day to day. So, I’ll continue to identify and work on my weaknesses, in all aspects of my life – after all, I am an endurance monster, and I will just keep on going for as long as I need to.
For those of you who are interested in pace and nutrition information, read on. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed this post.
The first one was slow (at least by interval standards) starting at a 7:41 minute/mile pace for the first 400 meters, and then progressively increasing my speed until I landed on 7:18 min/mile for the final 100 meters. I liked the progressive approach of this first one, and took the remaining 7 repeats using a similar approach, breaking each 800 into 200 meter progressions: 7:40, 7:30, 7:20, 7:10. I ran the 400 meter recovery at a very easy 9:00 min/mile pace. My heart rate hovered in the 160s during the repeats, which means I probably could have pushed them a little bit harder. Next time I will push faster, but based on my level of fatigue later in the day, I think I pushed hard enough on my return to speedwork. While I don’t like to, I did this workout on the treadmill. I just didn’t feel like dealing with the rain this morning. To compensate for the treadmill being easier than outside, I set it on a 1% incline.
I don’t really know the time information for my swim, but the RPE (rate of perceived exertion on a scale of one to 10): easy lengths = RPE 3/4, Build = RPE 6/7, Hard = RPE 8/9.
I followed the swim-run workout with two scoops of Hammer Nutrition’s Recoverite, blended with a yogurt and banana smoothie. Interested in the recipe? Crushed ice, two scoops of Recoverite (citrus flavor), a cup of yogurt (flavored or not), a banana, and a little bit of water to thin out (as desired). Use a blender to mix. Yummie! Berries of any type are also a good addition to the mix. I’m not affiliated with Hammer Nutrition in any way – I just like it. It has significantly less sugar than other options, and a nice mild taste. It doesn’t leave my mouth all sticky after drinking it.
