Ladies,
We got our quality in today, maybe at the expense of distance, but it's all okay. We got our effort in, and that's just as important as distance. Let me take some time to expand on that a bit - maybe it will be a bit less rambling than this morning's pre-practice explanation...
For the most part, we measure workouts on distance. That's a convenient marker, because it's universally understood. Sometimes we throw pace in there as well, because most can understand that running the same distance at a faster pace usually means harder work. And that's true. But it's not that simple.
See, what IS the most important aspect of training is probably the least understood - that what truly measures the quality of the workout is the time spent at higher levels of effort. You could run 10 miles at 10-minute pace, but it would not be equal to the effort put out running 5 miles at 5-minute pace. Though shorter, the faster run is exponentially harder.
That's the trade-off we had today. Under the conditions, we could have done our usual 5-6 miles attempting 8-minute pace or under, but I doubt many of you would have made it. It's too hot and too humid, and to go at it would have raised your working heart rates way about the desirable zone.
Desirable zone? What do I mean?
Every workout has a desired heart rate zone. When we are going easy, that's around 60% or so. Moderate is around 70%, hard is 85% or above. Racing typically is going to be 95%, saving 100% only for the very end. Why not go all-out? First, the body breaks down, second form breaks down. Once your form is gone, your speed is gone too. You have to run the maximum speed that allows you to sustain good form for long periods of time. And it's based on... heart rate.
Usually when we have normal conditions we can bypass most of this technical side and just run. When the conditions are as they have been for a while, we're forced to really focus on the details. In this case, I can't look at distance and speed as much as how high your heart rates are running. If you ran a moderate/high heart rate for an hour today, no matter how far you ran, the workout is equivalent to the one you got on a cool day where you could run farther and faster. It's effort over time that matters most.
Oh!
That doesn't mean we ignore speed or distance - certainly not. But we have to pick and choose when to use what, and for now, as long as we have these conditions, it will be effort. Don't worry about going shorter if I pull you off. Don't worry about speed if I don't address it with you. Focus on the day's goal, whatever it is. When you are done, hydrate, take in electrolytes, and rest for the next day.
These are the hard days, July and August. The weather will begin to change in a month, and things will get better. Hang in there!
We got our quality in today, maybe at the expense of distance, but it's all okay. We got our effort in, and that's just as important as distance. Let me take some time to expand on that a bit - maybe it will be a bit less rambling than this morning's pre-practice explanation...
For the most part, we measure workouts on distance. That's a convenient marker, because it's universally understood. Sometimes we throw pace in there as well, because most can understand that running the same distance at a faster pace usually means harder work. And that's true. But it's not that simple.
See, what IS the most important aspect of training is probably the least understood - that what truly measures the quality of the workout is the time spent at higher levels of effort. You could run 10 miles at 10-minute pace, but it would not be equal to the effort put out running 5 miles at 5-minute pace. Though shorter, the faster run is exponentially harder.
That's the trade-off we had today. Under the conditions, we could have done our usual 5-6 miles attempting 8-minute pace or under, but I doubt many of you would have made it. It's too hot and too humid, and to go at it would have raised your working heart rates way about the desirable zone.
Desirable zone? What do I mean?
Every workout has a desired heart rate zone. When we are going easy, that's around 60% or so. Moderate is around 70%, hard is 85% or above. Racing typically is going to be 95%, saving 100% only for the very end. Why not go all-out? First, the body breaks down, second form breaks down. Once your form is gone, your speed is gone too. You have to run the maximum speed that allows you to sustain good form for long periods of time. And it's based on... heart rate.
Usually when we have normal conditions we can bypass most of this technical side and just run. When the conditions are as they have been for a while, we're forced to really focus on the details. In this case, I can't look at distance and speed as much as how high your heart rates are running. If you ran a moderate/high heart rate for an hour today, no matter how far you ran, the workout is equivalent to the one you got on a cool day where you could run farther and faster. It's effort over time that matters most.
Oh!
That doesn't mean we ignore speed or distance - certainly not. But we have to pick and choose when to use what, and for now, as long as we have these conditions, it will be effort. Don't worry about going shorter if I pull you off. Don't worry about speed if I don't address it with you. Focus on the day's goal, whatever it is. When you are done, hydrate, take in electrolytes, and rest for the next day.
These are the hard days, July and August. The weather will begin to change in a month, and things will get better. Hang in there!
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