The Hal Higdon marathon recovery training program introduces (or re-introduces) speed workouts as part of the training process and culminates five weeks after the marathon with a 5K race. The speed work is once a week (Wednesdays, in my case) for three of the weeks in the program.
The first consists of three one-mile intervals at marathon pace, each separated by a half-mile jog, plus a mile warmup and a mile cooldown. Easy enough. I plowed through it with no problem. And it was a fun way to rack up a mid-week six-mile run.
The second is the same format, but those one-mile intervals are now at 10K pace. What Hal doesn't explain is whether to run at the pace of my last 10K (6:21), my best 10K (6:20) or my goal 10K (6:17). Because I like to push myself, I shot for the goal 10K - a pace I've never actually achieved at a 10K race, despite my best efforts. Nailed it or beat it every time, even managing an astonishing 5:57 on the first interval, which is even faster than my best 5K pace!
The third, which I did Tuesday because I'm stupid and thought it was Wednesday, was again the same deal, but this time with the mile intervals at 5K pace. This time I decided to go with my best 5K pace (5:58) because I can't imagine I'll ever beat it. I came close once (6:02) but got progressively worse (6:10, 6:11).
In addition, each Saturday, I'm doing tempo runs of 30 to 45 minutes - starting and ending slowly, but building in the middle to that elusive 10K pace. Unlike the interval runs, I don't do these on the track, so I use my internal sense of pace to decide what that is. Some days it might be faster, some slower, but I gauge it by the amount of effort I'm putting into it.
The upshot of all of this is that my regular runs have gotten faster. Last week, I flew through my four mile route - a route that usually takes at least 27 minutes due to some tough hills - in 26:33.
I am going to try again this autumn to finally break the 10K personal best that I set more than four years ago, but I've got to get a couple of decent 5Ks under my belt, too. But there aren't any that close to me until September in Verona. I'm intrigued by the Fab Four 5K on Aug. 13 in Roselle, during which the "PA system blasts music of the Beatles", but I'm not yet sure I want to travel that far for a 5K.
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