It
has been so long since I have done legit speed work. But Tuesday morning, I
laced up my running shoes, slapped on my knee brace, queued up a Dan Savage pod
cast, and hit my neighborhood streets for some 400s. I will be doing 400
repeats once every nine days to prepare me for a 10k in October. (My other “speed”
workout is a tempo run every nine days.)
There
are a couple loop-de-doops in my neighborhood that are very flat, so after a
one mile warm up, I literally ran my 400s in a circle. I wonder what my
neighbors thought of me running around their block fifteen times?
This
was the workout:
Warm
Up: 1 mile jog
8 x
400 sprints with a 400 recovery jog in between each
Cool
Down: ¾ mile jog
Around
the third 400 I wanted to be DONE. Speed work SUCKS. I mean, there is no other
activity that makes me want to vomit and shit my pants at the same time.
I
played mental games with myself. I told myself I only had to do six repeats. But once I got to six, I of course banged
out the last two. The truth is, I am not used to my workouts sucking. I had to
keep reminding myself what a coach once told me. “Anyone can run and
feel good.” It’s so true. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But if I want to
get better, faster, and stronger, at least some of my workouts are going to
have to be uncomfortable.
Do you play mental games with yourself during a particularly difficult workout?
How often do you do purposeful speed work?
I totally play mental games.
ReplyDeleteI did hill work a few weeks ago. Part of my normal route was blocked off due to road work. I had to use another hill and it is a beast. I kept saying I didn't have to do it but I would have to still get my mileage in. Luckily, the stubborn Taurus part of me, made myself do the last 3 hill repeats. I felt like a badass afterward!
Sometimes our work outs will be tough but they will make us stronger runners!!! :)
Yes they will! Glad you were able to be a Taurus Beast and pull out all your planned hill repeats. They are NO JOKE.
Delete400s are tough! Great job on kicking their butt!! !
ReplyDeleteI do not do purposeful speed work often enough. I like to do it once a week and if I'm racing I count that as speed work.
I would definitely count races as speed work. Maybe I should do a 5k or something before the 10k.
DeleteNice job, Meg! You rock, girl. Yes, I play mental games while doing tough work outs. I mostly do speed workouts on my bike..never while running. Today I actually listened to music during my 20 mile ride (something I never do) and wow, made a huge difference!
ReplyDeleteI should totally ditch the pod casts and do music for my speedy workouts!
DeleteYou should try it! I read a study a while back that said music can boost your performance (not that you need it, but it could be cool to find out if it works for you):
Deletehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081001093753.htm
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/psychology-workout-music/
"The findings show that when carefully selected according to scientific principles, music can enhance endurance by 15% and improve the ‘feeling states’ of exercisers, helping them to derive much greater pleasure from the task. One significant new finding is that music can help exercisers to feel more positive even when they are working out at a very high intensity – close to physical exhaustion."
“Music distracts people from pain and fatigue, elevates mood, increases endurance, reduces perceived effort and may even promote metabolic efficiency.”
I am so weird I just DON'T like to listen to music when I work out. HOWEVER when I listen to it at the end of a long run or during speed it can help me for sure.
DeleteOh yes, it's all mental games! Speed work does suck and I dread it every single time. Probably one of the reasons I stick to marathons over the shorter races. I wish I could love it, but I can't!
ReplyDeleteIt's so daunting! I don't think anyone likes it.
Delete