Faster 5K Step 3: Make Every Run Count

Sure, there are some schools of thought that emphasize increasing mileage in order to run faster, but my lifestyle can’t support those school colors. This blog was created on the premiss that as a busy mom you don't have time to spare. Therefore, running a lot of miles for the sake of running miles can't be part of the equation. Whatever training I do has to fit into my reality. My reality is three runs a week. So long as I don’t go out to sniff flowers and chase butterflies this works; I'm getting faster on low mileage. My runs often look like this:

1) Interval Training: Running faster for a certain amount of time or distance within my run for a certain number of repetitions.

2) Tempo Training: Running for a chunk of time at a faster pace.

3) Endurance Training: A longish run to maintain my endurance.

One factor I consider for all of these runs is my heart rate. Last fall I did some heart rate testing at Life Time Fitness. Learning my max heart rate, and especially my VO2 max, is the data that guides my training. Usually I'm not so good with data and I've prided myself on training by feel for the last 20 years. To understand my aversion to data, let me share this from a triathlon column I wrote for xtri.com in 2001 (note reference to Palm Pilot):

When I saw a recent article in Inside Triathlon by Dave Scott, it gave me hope. I like Dave Scott - who doesn't - and it was about a pertinent subject, increasing lactic acid threshold. I was engaged until I realized I needed a working heart-rate monitor and then I lost track of what to do with the MHR, VO2, LTHR, PE. All of it made me want to have a BM.

It's not Dave, it's me. I am bad at comprehending math and following acronyms. Plus, any kind of how-to reading makes me quiver. Both my car and my Palm Pilot would be so much more effective if I actually read the users manuals. I know that if I really followed the gobs of training advice out there (and bestowed upon me in my own home) I would be a better athlete...

So here I am, 11 years later, with a Garmin Forerunner 310 strapped to my wrist. Remembering to charge it can still be problematic, but the downloading of the data happens automatically with a USB drive. Andrew, the trainer who tested me, worked real hard to dumb things down into Kindergarten level analogies so I could understand what the numbers mean and why they're important. I'm not even going to entertain the idea of explaining what he said, I will screw that up, for sure.

However, what I know is that I am working to raise my anaerobic threshold so I can go faster longer (as it is, if 5Ks were two miles instead of 3.1 miles I would run the race of my life and have already accomplished my goal). During those training runs it's important for me to not only run at a certain pace, but also run that pace within a certain heart rate. If you don't have a heart rate monitor then use the "talk test." On your harder intervals you'll want to be breathing heavily, but allow yourself to recover in between. Tempo runs won't get you quite as breathless because you'll want to last longer. And for those longer runs, you want to be able to talk the whole time (so bring a friend along!)

My Garmin has become a great training partner. For once, I'm embracing technology! It's entertaining during the run (What's my pace? How far have I gone?) and definitely pushes me to stay focused on my goal for that particular run. However, beware the time suck of analyzing the data after a run or race. Highly entertaining.

When my 5K goal is accomplished, I'm sure I'll take off my Garmin every now and then. I'm still a big proponent of sniffing flowers and chasing butterflies.