Time

It still amazes me how many people assume that distance runners have to run for an hour or two every single day. I wish I had an hour or two to run every day, and I'm sure you do too! Let's face it: most of us are lucky to get 5 solid workouts in each week. I like the burn associated with mixing intensities, and using that as a warmup for core work and free weights. Having a long sloooow run once or twice a week makes for nice base reinforcement. Cross training once a week is nice for feeling the burn, while avoiding overuse injuries.

As much as I hate to run slow in base training (I like 6-6.2 mph for this), it has bailed me out on a number of occasions. This past fall, I was a few days out from food poisoning-- just getting over that rubber leg feeling-- and I knew that even though I felt lousy, I was so accustomed to maintaining that slower base pace, that sure enough, I was able to squeak out a 30 minute 5K (and continued to vomit into the evening... Disclaimer: I don't recommend this). The point is, I believe in base training. You develop a sort of "autopilot" to work off of. I've used this as part of my interval training too, which has helped with my shorter distance times too- that base pace 6 mph acts as my interval base pace. After a good warm up, I work up from 6 mph, going as high as 7.8 mph. Working with different speeds and mixing both the interval duration and sequence, you constantly change things up. This helped me unleash some speed- finishing my last 5K in 24:51-- a far cry from last season's best- 27:??.

It has been really interesting to think about how I've grown as an athlete over the years. Making the decision to do more than just the ordinary is a huge step. On the flip side, knowing when to back off is just as important. The benefits to walking are greatly underestimated. Aside from the obvious benefit from time spent in the "fat burn zone", spending time walking brings you back to basics. Sometimes you can catch your bad habits while walking and take the time to correct them. Sometimes it's just nice to give your joints a little break and enjoy the scenery.

Treadmill jam of the night: "Domino" -Jesse J (outstanding interval song)