What PACE should we do for our workouts and life updates.

I can’t even explain in words without using hand motions and very expressive facial expressions how amazing it felt to run outside in FORTY FIVE degree weather.  I didn’t even have to wear gloves.  Heck, I could have gotten away with running shorts.  It was just what I needed.  I went without a garmin and without music.  I think I got in about 9 miles yesterday and it was one of those runs where you feel every emotion there ever was… running is always my favorite way to sort through things.   Some people close to me are going through beyond tough things right now and my heart just broke for them the entire time.

It rained for the entire run but visors/hats make me love running in the rain.  No rain on my face during a rainy run means I’m happy.

So grateful for a non-snowing day.

Later on in the day we went to get groceries for my parents and then to eat lunch with them.

My dad came out of his room (he is just supposed to spend the majority of the day in the dark with no electronics etc) to talk for a bit.  He is getting more and more back to himself.   He wanted to hear about some of the things he was saying while he was in the hospital… like when the nurse asked him his name and he started singing, “M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E.”   Or when he told my nephew he was the favorite grandchild haha.  Oh and also how he thought he bought us a brand new house… yeah, nope ha;)

We had my mom’s carrot cake for dessert.

Here is the recipe in case you love carrot cake (she got it from one of her friends).

We hung out and talked for a little while and Brooke pretended Andrew was a slide.

My dad brought out my mom’s gorgeous pictures that he has of her:)

And Brooke went from cuddling to

pretending she was a dog like she always does at my parents’ house.

Starting the week off right with the Baron special.  I think I need to make this meal for you just so you can understand why we eat it five times a week;)

Our evening with Brooke consisted of three things:

1.  Dr. Seuss.

2.  The lion whisperer.

3.  A little project we are working on for my grandma.

Time for a tempo run today… I’m weirdly excited about it.

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***Please note that the below portion is a healthy mixture of my own opinion and information from a book and some from the internet.  I am not a running coach but I love running and I talk about it a lot so clearly my opinion means something;)***

We see and read all about different training plans, workouts and runs that other people are doing.  Tempo runs, intervals, easy runs, long runs etc.  I get questions often about how to know what pace you should be running at for these different types of runs.  If you aren’t training with a heart rate monitor it is even a little bit trickier to figure out exactly where you should be!  I just wanted to take a minute today and go through the different types of runs and what paces we should go!

PS most of my information is coming from this book because it is my go to for running information so when I put something in quotation marks I’ll be quoting below goodness:

Easy Runs!  “An easy run is usually defined as one that lasts anywhere between 20 minutes and 2.5 hours at an intensity of 55-75 percent of VO2 max.  Because most of us don’t have the means to get VO2 max tested, the next best thing is to look at a pace per mile.  The Hansons Half-Marathon Method calls for easy runs to be paced 1:30-2:30 minutes slower than goal race pace.”  So, if race pace for you is 7:30 then on your easy runs you are running between 9:00-10:00 minute miles.  My goal race pace currently is a 6:50 for my next race (hoping to drop that a bit) and so my easy run is usually right around an 8:34 which is 1:44 slower than race pace for me.  I take easy runs as the day to really just enjoy things.  To be able to talk to whoever I’m running with, to take in the scenery, to read while running on the treadmill etc.  Doing that mentally prepares me to take on the harder runs where you have to be more focused and your body is working a whole lot harder.  These easy runs prepare you to avoid mental and physical burnout by splitting up the hard stuff.

Speed Workouts!  Now these ones are a little bit trickier.  Because these vary greatly (i.e. 400m repeats vs 2 mile repeats etc), the paces obviously vary greatly too!  According to my favorite book above, repeats that are 1-3 miles per repeat are done about 10 seconds faster than race pace.  They refer to the shorter repeats (less than a mile or intervals that last 2-6 minutes) and for these shorter repeats—> “bases speed work on 5k and 10k goal times.”  When it comes to speed workouts, I feel like there are usually more guidelines listed on the specific workout.  IE this workout I am supposed to do soon:

I will take what my 10k pace is (I am thinking it is right around a 6:20-6:25 at my current fitness level) so my mile repeats will be at a 6:30-6:35.  If you are using a training plan that lists different speed workouts without more guidelines, maybe try to find similar workouts online to figure out the pace that they should be run at.

Tempo Runs!  “The tempo run is completed at goal race pace.  You should run at goal pace, even early on when it may feel easy.  It will take a good number of tempo workouts before you fully internalize the pace and can regulate your runs based on feel.  What does change throughout training is the distance of these workouts.”  This is how I train.  This is how I like to tempo.  For 1/2 marathon training I like to run the pace that I am shooting for on race day and SOMETIMES about 5 seconds faster than race pace (I don’t have any proof to back up doing this tempo pace 5 seconds faster, I just personally like to do it sometimes to give me some mental confidence for race day).  Now when I had a running coach, he usually had me tempo at about 10-15 seconds faster than race pace but that was for the MARATHON.  For the 1/2 marathon I think it is harder to go too much faster during the tempo in order to keep it in the ‘comfortably hard’ place.  Too much faster and it turns into a speed workout.  But for the marathon, you are going at a little bit slower pace compared to your half marathon pace so when I tempo for the marathon I speed it up a bit.  This brings the pace to that comfortably hard place and due to the fact that you are tempoing 8 miles or something for a 26.2 race, having it a little bit faster builds some strength/endurance to hold on to your ideal race pace for this longer race.  Just something that I do, take it or leave it:)

Runner’s World recommends these different point for finding the right tempo for you:

Long Runs! “If you are new to running, or new to running longer distances, the first goal is to simply build your endurance.  In that case, running slow enough to be able to cover the distance is the objective… We generally coach runners to hold an easy to moderate pace throughout a long run.  If you are new to the half-marathon, err on the easy side of pacing as you become accustomed to the longer distances. More advanced runners should maintain a moderate pace because their muscles have already adapted to the stress of such feats of endurance.  In the big picture of training, when you avoid overdoing these lengthy workouts, you reap more benefits and avoid the potential downfalls of overtraining.”  For me personally, on the long run I am usually with friends and I just run whatever pace they are going (unless it is too fast for me).  I see the long run more as my time to catch up on everything with my running friends and time on my feet.  When I was training for a fast marathon my coach had me do a lot of fast finish long runs (i.e. the last 6-10 miles of the long run were fast).  Where I am at now—>  my body is tired from the tempo and speed done during the week and I don’t want to kill it off and get injured/overtrained by pushing it too hard on the long run so I stick to that easy-moderate side for sure.

Post long-run snuggles are my favorite.

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What about you… how do YOU pace your different types of run workouts?  What’s your favorite one out of them all? What training plan have you found works best for you?  What about—>  how many days of running works best for you when training for a race? Who has a spring race that is starting to train for soon? Meal that is eaten most often by everyone at your house?