A REAL Tempo

Thursday: 16miles- 6 w up, 7 miles at 6:25pace, 3 c dn

Okay recently I have been doing lots of Jack Daniel's suedo tempo runs at lactate threshold pace with short recoveries. I have been modifying a lot of the workouts from the 1998 JD running formula editions marathon structured program (Plan B) and this was another one in that line.

True tempo runs are meant to be continuous efforts at a hard pace...not an all out racing effort, or at a pace like intervals....it is manageable, but not a cake walk. Today I ran just a touch off my calculated lactate threshold pace- or the pace I should be able to hold for a 15k-10mile race.

After a good warm up I settled in for some laps of my 1520m loop. The plan was for 6 miles since the JD plan called for 3x2mile. but, I got off to a slow start with the first repeat being at marathon pace, and thus I decided to tack another mile on at the end to make it 7. The plan was to back off the pace and make the last mile at marathon pace as well, thus, bookending a 5 miler at lactate threshold. Instead I found it hard to back off.

Splits for 1520m: 6:22, 6:10, 6:09, 6:02, 5:57, 5:51, 6:10. Not bad at all as this was without rest breaks and was about a 40minute 10k. This still sounds depressing to the me that remembers running 35:09 as a 13 year old. But, the effort level was not super high tonight and it (the 40min 10K) is a heck of a lot better than what I was capable of in January.

I don't have a heart rate monitor but I would have liked to have seen what I was at during this one. 45seconds post the effort my HR was 110bpm.

Watch out Crowther. I am up to 7 miles...progressing from Aprils workout....soon I will be doing 41!

Chasing Crowther

Thurs- 10 miles 3 w up, 3 x 3k (11:52, 11:56, 11:54) on 2 min rest, 1c dn

Okay I was really pretty happy about this workout today. I warmed up feeling a little tired, then started running loops of my 1520m road loop hoping to run about my lactate threshold pace (somewhere around 6:26 per mile) It was not too windy or hot today, just a lot of sand in the air. I took off a bit quick then settled in and managed to run even laps.(12:03, 12:07, 12:05) The 2min recovery time between reps was totally adequate and the effort on the last one had me thinking that I could easily do another repeat if someone asked me too. I definitely like the Jack Daniels Running Formula workouts. I am getting faster, but am never feeling totally destroyed after the workouts like I am used to from other training methods.

Anyway...on the cool down I figured out I ran about 6:22 per mile....and that that was the pace Greg Crowther ,the 2007 50k and 100k National Champion, held in a 41 mile training run he did in preparation for those events. Damn.