Recently I have started to look forward to Mondays. How could this happen? Mondays are super busy to the point where I have to eat my lunch in less than 5 minutes (so that I can see a very sick patient who can't do the 10 minute walk from the main hospital to my office), type notes while talking on the phone, and fight with myself so that I don't go and grab another cup of coffee and/or a sugar+fat fix! I manage and love Mondays because, after all the craziness of the workday is done, I get to do speed work! I leave work, eat a protein/carb combo that gets to digest by the time I get home, change clothes, and head out. After the first couple of intervals I feel energized, after a couple more I feel clearheaded, and by the time I start to cool down, I get overwhelmed by an out of this world sense of happiness, clarity and purpose. It's like I am walking on clouds.
Speed work has made me stronger and faster. It's such a mental game, particularly for the longer intervals where toward the end breathing becomes rapid, legs starts to hurt and mind starts to protest and throw down arguments as to why you should slow down or stop. Pretty persuasive, the mind! I think speed work is such a great exercise in living - you don't give up during a speed interval, you don't give up fulfilling a dream, you don't back out of something difficult that life throws your way! Speed work reinforces toughness, stubbornness, and confidence that anything is attainable with hard work, dedication and determination.
The problem is that I am addicted to speed work. I want to go faster and faster. What satisfied my craving one month ago does not seem enough any more, and I have to work on proving that it is enough, stick with the paces suggested by my training program, and don't go faster than 1-2 seconds per interval. This past Monday I gave in and ran my 1 miler @ 6:50 instead of 7:02, my 2 miler @ 6:46/mile instead of 7:12, my 2 800 meters @ 6:40 and 6:33 instead of 6:46. Thanks to the ice bath my legs felt only a bit stiff the next day, and they are fine now. Still, I may need an intervention here. I need to get a grip on my addiction to speed work, as April is almost here and I need to be healthy and fresh legged in order to run a good race!
Anyone has this problem?
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8 comments:
Ana
You are doing so well with your training I think you will run Boston much faster than your goal. I know what you mean about speed work. It gives you a feeling of power and purpose, a determined drive to push beyond what you thought possible. But alas, my fastest days are in the rear view mirror. My challenge now is to go farther, not faster.
I'm that way too. Fortunately some of the times my coach runs track with us and runs with me telling me to slow down. I guess you aren't supposed to go all out all of the time. you're gonna kick butt at Boston with those times!
I am also addicted to speedwork. Someone once asked me what my favorite day of the week is and I said hithout hesitation - Tuesday night! Speedwork night! While I can't quite throw down the same speedy times as you - some nights I have to force myself to stay within the pace I need to. I think once in a while it's good for morale, but to run too fast consitently is asking for injury.
Oh yeah, I definitely have this problem. At the times start getting ridiculous however, I just remind myself that the most important run is always tomorrow's run, so run today so you can protect tomorrow...if that makes sense. That's usually good enough to get me to slow down to a more manageable pace.
wow, you are FAST! usually i have the opposite problem in that i have trouble meeting the paces i'm supposed to be running. how did you pick your goal marathon pace? my guess, like Dan, is that you will probably run faster than your goal.
nice workout!
Sara,
My 1/2 marathon PR of 1:44:02 suggested I could run a 3:40 marathon. I started out training for a 3:45 bc in order to actually BQ I don't need to go faster. In the middle of the program I decided to switch training to the 3:40 marathon goal because workouts did not seem challenging enough. Thanks for the confidence vote that I will run faster than this - I am not sure though, my 5K times are way faster than my 10Ks or 1/2 marathon. I think I have more speed then endurance, but will see! Thanks for reading, Ana-Maria
Woo woo! What an inspirational post. I am looking to do my tempo runs at a 6:50/mile pace and I'm so going to remember your "addiction to speed workouts" the next time I find myself making excuses to skip the track.
Great job !
WOW - amaaaaazing speed work! you are so fast!!! i wish i was addicted to speedwork, hopefully i can learn to at least like it :)
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