quote:<HR>Originally posted by arlahile:
I've been running for a couple of years now. A couple HMs and many other "races". I do 20- 25 mpw on average, starting to work to 30 mpw. My easy runs are currently at 11min to 13 min per mile. Races around 9:15 - 10 min per mi (these are 5 and 10 K races). If it's informative, I'm a thin, 45 yr old woman.
I would like to introduce - once a week or ? - some kind of speedwork, not only because I wouldn't mind going faster, but also because it would be mentally invigorating.
So - Lydiard (and others?) say to start with hill work. Other sources say that 20 min tempo runs offer the most bang for the buck. I enjoy both my flat races and the local hilly (on a cross-country course) races to either hill or tempo work would be fun for me. Maybe it doesn't matter and I should do what feels good. 
Thanks in advance,
Arla<HR>
Arla:
I hope you realize increasing mileage (20~25 to 30, which is, while I don?t really care too much for the actual number when the total mileage is so low, you realize it?s a whopping 20% increase) AND adding quality workout (not one but more than one, Todd!?) would not be a smart move particularly when your base (aerobic base) is still very low.
If your goal is just simply go out and have a good time running, by all means, just go out and have a good time by throwing in some fast stuff here and there and take as much time you want to recover from them. But if you have some specific goal like running a half marathon in March or trying to improve upon your 10k time in the spring; then you might want to consider taking some time and structuring your training program. That might involve, whether you like it or not, keeping it an easy (and boring) running once in a while.
The thing is; your running 25MPW doesn?t mean much at all; you could be doing 5 miles a day 5 times a week; or you might go for a long run of, say, 10 miles on weekend plus medium long run of 7 on midweek and a couple of 3s or 4s? Now, that?s a bit more structure with certain purpose. Now you have hard/easy program and you?d replace one of those ?hard? days (usually mid week medium long run) with one quality work. You?ll have hills (which is probably the best quality work to begin with as AKTrail had suggested) or some reps or tempo type run. While it would be a good idea and make sense to move from less anaerobic but introducing strength and technique (hills) to more exacting faster work but still with some recovery in between like repetitions; then finally, harder continuous work like tempo (of course, by changing the over-all effort of the tempo run, you can do it as glorified distance run or as more exacting workout). But the point is; this way, you?re not necessarily shifting over-all ?effort? throughout the week but you?re introducing a different type of stress.
Once a week of easy strides of anywhere between 80m to 120m OR easy fartlek work, like you said, done over golf course is always good. Don?t make it a prolonged anaerobic training?meaning, don?t run too fast, don?t make it so long that you get into ?breathlessness? and don?t do too many of them at first. For easy strides, I?d like to do them on the road by using the count system. Suppose your strides is about 5 feet long, it?s about 3m for 2 steps; or roughly 60 steps for 90m. Count ?one? every time your right foot hits the ground (or left, whichever you want!); so ?one count? would be your 2 steps. So 60 steps, or 30 counts, would be roughly 90m (close enough for 100!)? This type of ?strides? is a speed workout; in other words, you don?t want to rush it because, if your legs get too tired or if you get too winded, you can?t produce ?good relaxed speed?. So take plenty of recovery rest in between?3 minutes would be good. This means, instead of just turn around and go back and do another one, float a bit after you?re done striding (so extend this 90m stretch all the way to, say, 150m, THEN turn around and JOG NICE AND EASILY back and even extend a bit there as well. Also, ?speed? is a nerve thing so you don?t want any ?struggle?. This means, if the road is slightly angled, do this downhill instead of uphill (this is different from resistance hill exercise); or if there?s a strong wind, do this WITH the wind, not into the wind. Take a good 3 minutes recovery before you do another one. Footing is very important so don?t do this if the road is snowy or icy. Too many people mix up strides with hard toughening interval/repetition and go right into another one or make this a macho uphill sprinting. Don?t. It?s a different purpose.
But you need to shuffle them all together so you won?t get overstressed. It would be a good idea to have one, two at most including a weekend?s long run, and shuffle around all those elements. Remember, all the easy recovery jogging between hard workouts, regardless of how many days that would be, is just as important as those tough workout. If you need two or three days to recover, so be it. Well, actually, perhaps most importantly, do go by how you feel. Way too many people try to stick with the schedule too much. I hear SO many times that someone asking a question, ?I?m SUPPOSED to run 10 today but I?m too tired or too sore? What do I do???? Well, your body is sending a message that you?re too tired! Don?t do it!!! Same thing; if your body is sending a message that you want to go do some fast stuff; go and do it. If your body is saying to slow down, go slow. Learn to listen to your ?Inner Coach? more than some stranger on the message board.
