Wednesday, January 30, 2008

A Week Late: Mile Repeats

The schedule said 5 to 10 reps. I did 7. I started on an eighth but because I was going to try to see how using carbs would help my performance (downed two Clif Shot Blocks). Unfortunately, I let too much time lapse after the 7th and my legs would not go, the were sore and I was feeling blisters. It was time to stop.

I mostly felt pretty good, and I was glad to do these inside at East Bank--although I feel I need to get the time down about 20 seconds/mile prior to being ready for Boston*.

My laps were pretty even, ranging from 1:21 to 1:27. I kept the heart rate at 86-87% after the first lap of each mile. I was recovering to 120 pretty easily between reps. Here are the mile times:

5:34, 5:43, 5:43, 5:36, 5:38, 5:39, 5:37

I wore the Nike Zoom Jasaris. I really like the way these shoes feel, but I am having the same problem with them that I have had with some other shoes this winter. It seems that when I run more on my toes, I push the insole up the back of my heel and out of the shoe. The problem wasn't as pronounced on the Jasaris as I have found on my Adidas trail shoes, but it was still uncomfortable. The solution for my trail shoes is to use my orthotics, but I don't really want to do that for speed training or races. So, I need to find out if there is a better solution to the problem.

*How will I get that time down? I think a combination of five things:

  1. Increased economy through more training. Boston is still 81 days away according to the fancy new countdown widget on the right.
  2. Decreased weight (somewhat plays a part in increased economy). I am right about 130-131 right now. I think I can get that 125 which should translate into a few percentage points increase in aerobic capacity.
  3. Increased vVO2(max) through more training and the addition of the strength circuit.
  4. More speed training, primarily the 100m sprints done at the end of recovery runs.
  5. Timing on a track with more gentle corners or on the path without turns.


Somewhat looking forward to the 800s next week.

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