Running Shorts

I bombed a race this past weekend. The Mill Race Half Marathon , to be specific. I ran 1:08:17 and finished a fading third. I came into the race with high expectations. A few weeks ago I wrote a post about going to the well in workouts, specifically citing my 4-3-2 mile intervals run at 5:00 pace. Based on that effort, I knew I was ready to challenge the Olympic Trials standard of sub-1:05 -- and the plan was to go for it at the Mill Race last weekend. I had all my splits planned for the race: 5k at 15:25, 10k at 30:50, 15k at 46:15, 10 mile @ 49:35, even 12 mile at 59:30. Given past years' competition, I knew there would be some fast Africans, so the strategy was to tuck into the pack and stay as comfortable as possible, looking for the splits to stay on target. If I was on pace and feeling good at 10k, then I'd go for; if I was off pace or struggling, then I'd back off and save it for another day. So when we went through 10k at 31:15 and I was already hurting , I kn...

One of my favorite places to do workouts and strides and general fast stuff is the track at Withrow High School in Hyde Park. No, it's not because of the newly renovated surface. No, it's not because it's a perfect 10-minute warmup and cooldown jog from my house. No, it's not because I'm a nerd and it has markings for both a 1600 and a mile. No, it's not because the school building forms a perfect "L" around the homestretch and first turn, sheltering the field from any drastic wind. No, it's not because I spent four years during college running workouts there. Actually, wait, that is part of it. The reason I love Withrow's track so much can be summed up like this: it's a true public track. If you've ever been to the track, then you know how packed it can get with people using it. And it's not just Withrow High School teams and random individuals -- the track is also regularly used by many other local high schools witho...

"Quenton, this is where you find out. This is the time and place. All the rest is window dressing. ... You can do very nearly anything. Haven't you figured that out?"                                                                                                  - Bruce Denton, Once a Runner If you've read this blog before, you know how I often preach training at a controlled effort. Strides should be run at a relaxed fast effort. Interval workouts should be finished feeling like you could do one more . Et cetera et cetera. And I stand by the philosophy that most of your training should be controlled. Most of it, but not all of it. Every once in a while -- maybe once or twice a season MAX -- you should think about running a workout where y...

In baseball, there's a term for the ideal position player: the Five-Tool Player. This player can hit for average, hit for power, run the bases fast, throw hard/far/accurately, and excel defensively. All players strive to master all five tools, but few players actually possess them. For the competitive runner, I believe, there is a similar set of five 'tools' they should strive to develop. Perhaps a better term for the runner might be 'five paces', as there are five sets of paces that runners should have in their training repertoire. These are the types of paces that should be touched on year-round, but at different intensity levels based on any upcoming race schedules. These paces -- these tools -- will help you train smarter and race faster. Here they are: A runner's five 'tools' (or paces): Easy.  This is an easy effort. Real easy. Like, laughably easy. So easy, it should feel like you're not really getting any work in. That's because y...

So this is another edition of WOTW that I didn't do, but my high schoolers did. I do think it has value for runners of all abilities though. What is the workout? Explosive hill repeats are really simple: find a hill -- something steep, preferably grass. It doesn't have to be long, just something that takes you 8-10 seconds to bound up. (If there's not a hill near you, stadium steps work as well). Then, do hill repeats: sprint up the hill as fast as you can. Visualize yourself exploding up the hill. This is an all-out, maximum, 110% effort. At the top of the hill, walk back down and then rest for 3-5 minutes before the next one. Yes, 3-5 minutes. That part's essential -- you want to be fully recovered before you start again...this is a sprinter's workout; don't try to gain aerobic fitness on these. No, no running during rest. The first time you do this workout, only do 4-6 reps. Work your way up to 10. That's it, pretty simple. Why should you do it? M...

Ok now, before I get any complaints about being arrogant or an elitist or anything like that, let me first give my definition of an "elite runner." The way I think of it, in the running world an "elite" is anyone who places competition before participation. Elite runners range the gamut from full-on professionals to the local fast post-collegiate runners; the term to me also includes high school and college xc and track athletes as well as masters and age-group competitors. More than meeting a certain time standard, being an elite runner is more about having a competitive mindset. So now that that's out of the way, let me also say this: while elite runners are often the most visible athletes to the general public, they do make up a minority of the running community. People are often intimidated or put-off by elites, thinking that the faster runners judge anyone slower than them as inferior, less worthy, "not a real runner," etc. Of course, when you a...

And by 'easy long runs' I mean long runs (no matter how long) done at an easy effort; long slow distance, or LSD is how some people term it. But first, a caveat: long slow runs still have their place in the running world, but can we please stop doing only long slow runs? LSD runs are great in two situations: 1) when you are building your mileage early on in base training, and 2) as a low-key aerobic maintenance session during your peak competition season -- your focus should be on race-specific workouts, so long runs shouldn't be enough to tire you out. At any other point in the heart of your training? Change it up. Why? Because always and only doing long easy runs is the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result. Listen, I know consistency is important to train well, but so is variation. If you want to improve, you have to mix things up bit, you have to challenge yourself and push the limits of your comfort zo...