Running

This was my 2nd weakest or 2nd strongest event depending on how you look at it. Running with any semblance of speed was difficult for me. I have searched for the magic potion for running – there isn’t one. I have done a ton of reading on the internet and the best advice I found came from the forums on Slowtwitch.com. A poster going by BarryP offers his advice on endurance running.

Barry suggests that the best way to become a better runner is to run a lot, but to follow a formula doing so. The formula goes  2, 1, 2, 1, 3, 1 – where 1 represents a unit of time ie 15 minutes. If 15 minutes was your base unit,  your week of runs would be Mon 30 minutes, Tuesday 15 minutes, Wed 30 minutes, Thur 15 minutes, Friday 45, Saturday 15 minutes, Sunday off. The 15 minute runs are at a slow recovery pace. The 30 minute runs are at pace about your 5K pace per mile plus 60-90 seconds. The 45 minute run is at a slightly slower pace than that but faster than your 15 minute run.

This method allows you to build up your miles without over stressing your system. Establishing the proper paces may be difficult at first. I found a spreadsheet that someone built around the “Daniels Running” formula. The spreadsheet is located here http://www.electricblues.com/html/runpro.html. I recommend that you download the sheet and play with it. To determine your VO2 max you will need to run 3.1 miles (a 5K) for time. Just insert your time in the top of the sheet ans you running paces for various distances will be calculated for you.

Rather than paraphrase BarryP of the Slowtwitch forums, I am going to post the 3 links that will allow you to read his information foryourself. You really should read this.

Part 1 http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=2545826;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread

Part 2  http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=2548469;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread

 Part3  http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=2556622;search_string=barryp;guest=75931282&t=search_engine#2556622