DETERMINING A PACE FOR YOUR SUMMER TRAINING

The primary purpose for your summer training, especially during the first week, is to begin to create a base on which you will build, in both volume and intensity, during the weeks and months to come.  I would describe the miles run during the upcoming week as EASY (E) paced miles.  E miles can be defined in many ways, some scientific, some intuitive.  For example, one could use a formula, like that of distance running expert Jack Daniels, which can be easily entered via the following link:

http://runbayou.com/jackd.htm

Using this calculation method, a runner with a season's best 5K during last season of 20:00, would run E pace miles at 8:40 per mile, while a runner with a 5K time of 24:00, would pace at 10:11 per mile.

Others describe E pace miles as your race pace PLUS 2 Minutes per mile.  Using this method, the two runners in the preceding example would have E mile paces of 8:26 and 9:43, respectively.  The difference in the two computations doesn't seem like much.  That is, until you compare running at each pace.

I would suggest, for the upcoming week anyway, that you run at a "conversational" pace, that is a pace at which you can converse easily with whomever your are training.  If you are training alone, run at a pace at which you feel you could carry on a conversation.  There is a tendency to run a tad harder without company, so be aware of your breathing and if necessary, verbalize your own thoughts . . . "I'll take a right at the next corner and go straight for another half-mile before turning back."  Don't worry that people might think you're crazy talking to yourself, it is far less crazy than running at a faster pace which will only result in disappointment and/or injury.

Over the past few weeks you've been given enough information, either through the blog, or via the handout you received, to approach this week's running with anticipation, not angst.  One of the tenets of any running program should be to enjoy the experience. Make it fun!  Hope to see you on the road!

Did you ever hear those (annoying) commercials that repeat an 800 number several times?  The repetition principle tells us that saying or hearing something three times helps to either convince oneself of something or to remember it. For example:

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate;  stretch, stretch, stretch; core, core, core; internettraininglog.com, internettraininglog.com, internettraininglog.com!!!