Tempo #2

Sunday 2/26 - We are back at Shelby Park.  9 a.m.

First of all, last week's long run was epic.  This week we are back at Shelby.

During the course of our 1/2 marathon / marathon training, we have several different types of runs.  Of course there are those standard, obligatory (and important) steady state long runs.  That is where you just start slowly, and build into a steady pace that is about 1:30 to 2:30 minutes slower per mile than your 3 mile time trial pace.

Interspersed in these long runs we have 4 structured tempo runs.  We still run a fairly long distance, but for periods of time, we will run at or above our goal 1/2 marathon pace.  (Tempo pace, which is 85-90% max heart rate, or between 20 and 45 seconds slower per mile than 3 mile TT pace.)  This week is one of those workouts...  The first 2 parts of the workout are the same for everyone the bold part is different:

Novice (80 min total): 15 minutes easy + 5 x (5 min Tempo + 1 min easy) + 20 min easy + 5 min tempo + 10 min easy

Intermediate (90 min total): 15 minutes easy + 5 x (5 min Tempo + 1 min easy) + 25 min easy + 10 min tempo + 10 min easy

Advanced (105 min total): 15 minutes easy + 5 x (5 min Tempo + 1 min easy) + 35 min easy + 15 min tempo + 10 min easy

Note: You need feedback for these types of run.  Types of feedback include heart rate, pace and perceived effort level.  During the "tempo" portions of your runs, your heart should be between 85 and 90% of your maximum.  Your pace should be around 20-30 seconds per mile slower than your 3-mile time trial pace.   (If you don't have a GPS watch, I am going to mark the quarter miles on the 3-mile Shelby Loop.)  Finally, your breathing should never be auditory.  i.e. If you can hear yourself breathing, you are going too hard.

Calling All Parents...

Part of our mission at East Nasty is to support local businesses...because we love East Nashville and want to make it a great place to live and run.   Well a couple of East Nasties have gotten together to open a new baby & children's consignment store!  You'll learn more about Amanda Silvera and Casey Sloss soon, but their new store (called "Cheep Cheap") has their grand opening this Saturday from 10-4.  Cheep Cheap is located in the Porter Road East complex, 711 Porter Rd.

See you on Sunday !

Mark

Wednesday Night Run

The days are getting longer, the weather looks nice and warm - there is not a better way to spend Wednesday night than joining us for Run #8: Rick's Market (Coldest Beer in Town).   6 p.m. at the corner of 11th and Holly in East Nashville.   And please: learn the route and volunteer to lead a group!

Thursday Night Tempo

A lot of us are already beginning to feel the benefits of the Thursday night workouts.  So if you are looking to run the half marathon, or if you just want to run in a faster group on Wednesdays, come join us Thursday.  Same time, same place as Wednesday - although we do start on time on Thursdays :)

Novice: 20 minute tempo, Intermediate: 25 minute tempo, Advanced: 30 minute tempo.

Spring Half-Marathon / Marathon Shirt

Ordering for our Spring 2012 race shirts (full marathon, half marathon, & plain) will close after Wednesday night!  You can get more info and order yours online over on the Shop page. These are the shirts that East Nasty will be wearing for the Country Music Half/Full and all other spring races. You can head over to Nashville Running Company to try one on to find the size that fits you best. Place your order today before you forget and miss out!

See you Wednesday night. -Mark

1/2 Marathon Training - Shelby Park 9 a.m.

This week we will still be meeting at Shelby Park outside of the nature center. (Which is a good reminder to download the training schedule.  It has all the workouts outlined of course, but it also lists our Sunday morning meeting locations.)

This week's workout is not completely straight forward, so please take a moment to read below.

Last week we ran a 3-mile time trial. Time trials / races are essential workouts because that pace is a benchmark that will determine our training paces. To begin, divide your three mile time by three to get your mile per pace, and we'll go from there. (As I explain the workout, I am going to use a hypothetical intermediate runner, "Bob", who ran 23:00 for the time trial last week.  Which is 7:40 per mile.)

The run is split into three parts: the warm-up, the workout, and the extra mileage. The first two parts will be the same for everybody (run at different paces of course), the last part will be different for the novice, intermediate and advanced groups.

We will run at two paces this week: our long/easy pace and tempo pace.

Our long run pace is 1:30 - 2:30 minutes per mile slower than our time trial pace. That pace for Bob would be 9:10 - 10:10. In terms of heart rate, that pace is under 75% of your max heart rate. (Another good estimate is 180 - your age.) Tempo pace is 20-45 seconds per mile slower than your time trial pace. In terms of heart rate, tempo pace is between 88-92% of your max.   Since we are doing tempo intervals rather than a steady state run, our tempo pace will be on the faster end of that range: 20-25 seconds slower than our 3-mile pace or about 90% max HR.

Part 1 - the warm-up  (everyone) 20 minutes at about 2 - 2:30 minutes slower per mile than their 3-mile pace.

Bob would start at 10:10 pace and speed up to 9:40 pace during the warm up.

Part 2 - The workout  (everyone) 5 x (5 minutes tempo pace +  1 minute easy)  - 30 minutes total.

Bob would run 5 minutes at 8:00 - 8:05  pace, then jog easy for 1 minute. He would do this sequence  five times.

Part 3 - Extra mileage novice adds 20 minutes, intermediate 30 minutes and advanced will add 45 minutes. This pace should be about 1:30 slower than 3-mile pace.

Bob would run at 9:10 pace for 30 minutes.

We're also going to move off the greenway, and run 5k loops of the park. Why? To prepare for the race by adding a little bit of rolling terrain. (The Country Music 1/2 marathon is hilly, the greenway is not...) Here is the loop that we will use. I am going to try and mark the miles on the ground tomorrow - no promises, so make a mental note of the mile marks.

Dubai Marathon

Yesterday at the Dubai marathon, Deressa Chisma Edae ran 2:05:42 (4:48 pace)...and finished 8th. Wow. The race was won by a 21-year old Ethiopian, Ayele Absharo, in his debut marathon. (He earned a cool $250,000 for his efforts.) Even more amazing was the fact that his last 2 miles were run in about 9:04. (Once again emphasizing negative splitting:  1:02:22 first half, 1:02:01 second half.) He broke the lead pack apart by running the 39th kilometer in 2:46 - for you track guys, a 2:46 kilometer is 66.4 seconds per lap! For more check out the race coverage here.

No Brunch

Last week was amazing! Belgian waffles, pancakes, bacon... Outstanding! Many thanks to our gracious host Sara Spencer. This week, you're on your own. My post-run East Nashville food suggestions are Mitchell Deli and Marche. A third option would be Bongo Java East. Of course they make great coffee, but they also have some fantastic bagel sandwiches.

See you on Sunday.

Mark

So the weather seems to be a little bit schizophrenic, but I'll trade a 15 degree Tuesday for a 65 degree weekend any day! Tempo Running

A 1/2 marathon is not a dash.  If you're breathing hard after 2 miles, you're in trouble.  Racing 13.1 miles requires a sustained 80-90%-ish effort;  and not just a sustained effort, but an even paced effort.  The most efficient way to run a 1/2 marathon is an even/negative split.  (Meaning that your first mile is the slowest, your last mile is the fastest, and all the rest are about the same.)

Therefore the two most beneficial workouts for a marathoner are the long run and the tempo run.  The long run is beneficial for obvious reasons - and they are fairly straight forward: you run for a long time at a conversational pace.   There is a bit more variety in how you do tempo workouts, but the purpose of all tempo runs is to raise your anaerobic threshold.  Your what?  Basically, in lay terms, tempo runs improve your ability to run at a pace that is "almost really hard" for a long time.   (As a side note: training your body to go "pretty hard " for a long period of time, may actually decrease your ability to go "really hard" for a short period of time.  In other words its hard to be a marathoner and a sprinter at the same time.)

Tempo Intervals

If you are following the workout schedule, you started doing tempo intervals this week.  You ran for 1 mile at a pace that is about 35 seconds per mile slower than your 2 mile time trial, then you rested for 1 minute: (repeat 4-8 times).  These are great workouts becuase you can run faster than you can on a continuous tempo run, but they are not great race simulators because you know that you will have a 1 minute  rest after every mile -and  that's not how races work.

Continuous Tempo Runs

For 1/2 marathoners, a much more applicable type of tempo running is the continuous tempo run.   Physiologically these workouts improve your anaerobic threshold almost as well as tempo intervals, but mentally they refine your pacing skills and concentration.  This is what we are doing this week.

Get to the point, what are we doing this Sunday?

What we are doing this Sunday:

Note: Whenever we do a long tempo run, it will be on the greenway at Shelby because every 1/2 mile is marked.

Take your 3 mile time trial from last week and add 45 seconds per mile.  (This is a fairly conservative pace, so everyone should be able to hit these times.)

Then shuffle at least 1 mile (perferably 2)  to warm up, before hitting the greenway to run 4, 5 or 6 miles at tempo pace.  If you are feeling good, you can speed up the last mile or two.

Then, take in your fluids and calories that you have been bringing ever since you read my previous blog, and head out to get some java.

See you guys on Sunday !

Mark