Monday, August 25, 2014

What SPEEDWORK Really Stands For

I had a reader tell me that I really should change my blog name because I don’t “run” anymore, I do triathlons (yeah, well, there is some running involved in that – especially if you are doing an Ironman – doesn’t 26.2 miles count as running?).

Evidence. Here is me running in a triathlon. This quick leg turn over on a hard surface is running:

irongirlfinish

Sometimes I like to be very dainty with my pinky while I run.

I have decided, by the way, that the reason one does not swim at the end of a triathlon is that one would drown from fatigue. At least if you are running and fall over your lungs will not fill with water and you will not sink to the bottom of a body of water, never to be heard from again.

The name of my blog naturally means this blog is about running… but to me, the title signifies a greater attitude about life. SOGOTP (Shit Or Get Off The Pot) – meaning that if you want to do something, be it achieve a fitness goal, change jobs, end a relationship, lose weight, stop eating Dots in bed every night (<- note to self), then make it happen without a lot of drama or discussion.

This doesn’t mean one can’t bitch to friends and family about a situation, but at some point the bitching has to cease and the action to promote change has to begin.

Okay, time to shut up and get off my soap box.

Speaking of running, this has been a solid week of training for me.

Monday: Rest, pick nose, eat cookies

Tuesday: 6.5 miles with 8 x 400 at 3k pace

Wednesday: 3 miles easy (with an URGENT stop at a park bathroom at mile 2. If that bathroom had not been there  I would have been steeply fined by the HOA)

Thursday: 5 miles easy with Heidi

Friday: 9 miles with 3 x 2 miles @ half marathon pace

Saturday: Bike 21 miles

Sunday: 9.6 miles @ LSD pace (Long Slow Distance, not a hallucinogenic drug, although that sounds fun)

Total: 33.1 miles of running

It feels nice to train like a normal person and not like an Ironman Maniac.

I love speed work and let me tell you why. Even though it hurts and I cuss my way through it and it often makes me feel as if I am going to crap myself, it brings an element of variety and challenge to an otherwise mundane running routine.

S – Suffering
P – Pain
E – Exertion
E – Energy
D – Determination
W – Worthwhile
O – Orgasmic (just kidding, but I couldn’t think of any “O”words)
R – Retching (on occasion)
K – Krapping (on occasion)

I also love SPEED because – and get this – it works. It makes you faster. I have been doing speed work as part of my training solidly since last December. Typically, I will do 1-2 sessions of speed per week. What I have found is that I can run at faster paces more comfortably than I could before (please do not look at my marathon time in the Ironman ((5:19)) because then you will not believe me that speed work might have made me faster).

Need ideas for how to add speed to your running workouts? Go HERE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do you incorporate speed work into your training?

When is the last time you had an “urgent” situation on a run? Before Tuesday, it was on July 31. I had to hide under a bridge. No joke.

How many miles do you typically run per week? Depends what I am training for. With a marathon it us about 40-45. Half marathon probably 30-35.

SUAR

39 comments:

  1. i'm running 30-40 miles a week now but am considering giving that whole ironman thing a try...which is terrifying (and which probably means i should do it).

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  2. I'm training for Chicago and this time around I've got speedwork on my plan. You are absolutely right, it does make you faster. So that way you can get to the bathroom faster, at least that is my logic! In all seriousness, I thought I would hate speedwork but I find that I love it because you get to run fast but then you get to catch your breath before the next round.

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    1. Exactly. I have come to look forward to the FAST part, but love the recovery intervals as well. Best of luck with your Chicago training!

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  3. My favorite blog. I'm glad you post to facebook because otherwise I would never remember to read it. This is why it's also the one blog that I actually read.

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  4. are you sure that isn't your middle finger?? that's one long pinky! ...but you do have long toe so...

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    1. Haha!! It just might be the middle finger. I have a hard time keeping track of my long digits.

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  5. I despise speedwork, but my coach is making me do it. It does work, but I dread it. I would rather run hills. Usual mileage is 40-50 if training for marathon or ultra; 30-35 when training for anything less.

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  6. I love your blog so much! I definitely need to stop overthinking what I want to do and just do it. Thanks for the reminder! :)

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  7. Why would someone tell you what to name your blog? Dumb buggarhead.

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  8. That's a little...rude is it not? To tell someone what to name their blog? Unless someone is your mama, they don't need to be telling you what to do. Rude!

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  9. I do speed work once per week (3 runs total per week for a total of 27-34 miles in marathon training + 2 bike rides and some weight training). I also think another way to increase speed is to focus on a shorter distance for a while -- say, drop down to a 10K, then a half, when your ultimate goal is a marathon -- because it trains your legs to turn over faster. That's what helped me finally qualify for Boston (I get to say that until it gets old. It's only been 24 hours so I'm still high on the bragging rights). Urgent situation on a run? Let's just say that's the only time recently I've been to a Burger King.

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  10. Just started doing speed work on both my bike and running in the form of Tabatas. Looking forward to the increase in speed! I once had an urgent situation while running in South Bend on a weekend trip. Luckily, it was very early in the morning (dark kind of early) and the neighborhood had a vacant lot that was wooded. I didn't have a bridge nearby.

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  11. So, just found out today (while still recovering from hip surgery) that the speedwork group that I ran with the year I set all my PRs, figured out I could run, and dropped 20+ minutes off my marathon to break 3:10...is folding into another group. They will meet on another day and I won't be able to attend. This group really shaped me as a runner; it's how I I went from being a casual jogger to a racer, and I am really quite upset! That was all I had for speedwork, so I don't really know what speedwork will look like now (ahem, once I recover, if I ever do).

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  12. I had an 'incident' involving churning guts on a forest run a few days ago. I got to a suitably quiet part of the trail and decided that an outdoor shit was preferable to massive gut cramps and/or potential shitty knickers for the last three miles. I went about ten feet into the trees and dropped trou, all the while cursing having worn a day-glo shorts and t-shirt combo. However, no-one went past and I concluded my business without drama or interruption. It was my first ever outdoor dump. It felt like a weight had been lifted (or dropped...) and I zipped the last three miles like a baby antelope. Later that evening, I was recounting the tale of said outdoor dump to my husband, and feeling pretty ninja about the whole thing. When I finished the story, the very first thing he asked me was, did I dig a hole and bury my shit. Did I dig a hole and bury my shit?! Yeah, because I always carry a small shovel on my forest runs, FFS. He shrugged and said that burying your outdoor doo-doos is the accepted protocol, and left it hanging there just to let me know that I did a Bad Thing. He stole my turd sunshine. He rained on my poop parade. :(

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    1. dropping trou...baby antelope...carrying a shovel when you run...you had me lmao. Thanks for that!

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  13. I do speedwork...but I'm slow as molasses so it might not necessarily be recognized as such. (In other words, my recovery speed isn't a lot different from my interval speed). Remember awhile back you posted about a group of people (I want to say a Chinese group?) incorporated a ton of walking into their marathon training? I honestly think there's something to that. My kids are running xc and we took about 2 weeks off to go to Disney (which means MILES of walking). Every time, their pace improves even though they have CLEARLY not done speedwork. Just thinking...

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  14. I am incorporating speed work right now because I'm trying to hit a goal time for the 10k. You are so right... speed work makes me want to throw up and crap my pants all at the same time. It's magical, isn't it?

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  15. I love speed work. I only run 3x a week and two of the sessions are speed work - a tempo run and some sort of interval workout. As for mileage I'm usually around 55-65km/wk for a marathon and 35-50 km/wk for a half marathon.
    The last "urgent" situation I had was YEARS ago. But I did everything I could to keep it in until I found a place to go (stopped running, weird shuffling, you name it). I was in a residential neighbourhood and there was no way I was going to jump a fence to take a dump in someone's backyard. So, I hustled to the closest main street I knew and found an open Starbucks. Thankfully they had just opened so there weren't any patrons yet. WHEW.

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  16. I'm currently training for Marine Corps Marathon and I am running about 45 miles per week. I have had many emergency stops recently. Gotta figure out what is making my tummy upset. I'm already gluten free, so I don't know what else to do. In my case, Saturday's long run (17 miles) involved finding a construction site with a porta-potty (score!) and then also a corn field (not so score). But, you do what you gotta do...

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  17. I added speedwork into my training for my third marathon. When I tried speedwork for my first, I ended up with a pelvic stress fracture- distance +speedwork as a new runner was NOT a good idea. I run five days a week (2 easy runs, 1 interval workout, 1 tempo run, and 1 long run- my fave!) totalling anywhere from 35-45 mpw. I love the tempo runs but suffer through the intervals workouts. You are right, though- it works!
    Call me lucky... And knock on wood... I have never had an emergency bathroom situation. I just dont suffer from any gut issues other than farting while running which makes me paranoid and look over my shoulder to make sure no one could have possibly heard me!

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  18. I used to hate speedwork. I sucked at it, I didn't have any speed and I hated hurting. So after several years of not doing any (battling injury, shin splints really don't like fast), I've started sneaking a little bit in during 3-5 mile runs, combined with a lot of added strength (and therefore speed) from picking up Crossfit 4 months ago, I am really excited to see what I can do in an upcoming half. Hoping my shins hang in there so I can add in some track workouts to get faster and get a 10 minute 1/2 Marathon PR.

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  19. I do speed work with my XC team and we have a love/hate relationship with it :) We did 1000 meter repeats yesterday (that ended on a hill - ew) and while I hated every second, I know training will pay off :)

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  20. I did my first session of "speedwork" for the first time last week, and I've got another round tomorrow. It is so intimidating, and I'm not even sure I'm doing it right! Hopefully it works for me!!

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  21. I love speedwork too! I do one speedwork and one tempo run every week. Typical mileage is between 40-50. 55'ish when training for a full. Is that enough to be qualified as a runner? 😁

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  22. I love speed work and typically run it once or twice a week. I also love high mileage, and when I have enough time... I like to hit 130+ mpw, more than most marathons, I know, but I excel when I run that much and I am on the runner's high :)

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  23. Ha a tri is not running? That silly commenter apparently doesn't run. End of story. I had an urgent situation happen yesterday on my 3 mile run, lucky for me I was able to make it to the port-a-john on the trail. I do very little speed work. I am training for a half marathon so I have been running about 15 to 23 miles a week which is better than last month!! Keep running my friend.

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  24. I have been a runner for 19 years have done a bunch of olympic tri's and one 1/2 Iron distance after which the fire seemed to go out. I still run about 10 miles a week now if I'm real militant about my schedule. I've gained about 20 lbs and I want to get back to basics, Shut up, and RUN! A couple of years ago I was on a 8 miler in the woods around a lake in Wisconsin when the un-ignorable call of nature hit me and for the first time in my life I assumed the instinctive squatting position and let loose. What relief! After I hit my turn-around point and was on the way back, my running partners (a German shorthair and a black lab) disappeared ahead of me. I came upon them in a few minutes feasting on my recent evacuation. It was possibly the most disgusting thing I've ever witnessed. Etiquette be damned! That's the REAL reason to bury your scat!

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    1. And that "feasting" is the most distinct thing that separates dogs and humans. GREAT story!

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  25. I actually don't do a lot (or any) "speedwork" in running. What I try to do is vary my paces a bit and then enter shorter races (5K's an half marathons) to test speed out before a race. I can't get my body to move that fast in training on my own. I typically go nowhere near the pace I run in a race in training...

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  26. Bang Bang giant ball of blood? WTH has happened to your blog?

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  27. Yes, the urgent situation and speed work usually go hand-in-hand ;) I'm sure you can figure that one out!

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  28. I joined a group that does speedwork every Monday and it's one of my favorite workouts of the week. I spend the entire time both feeling like I'm going to puke AND wearing a huge grin on my face. I think there is something very wrong with me.

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