Hi there! Blogging only 3-4 times per week really makes me feel a little out of the “blogging loop.” I hope everyone’s week is going by great. This week has been pretty typical for us. Before I get into much else, here is a recap of some of my runs this week so far.

 

Monday

Monday started out with a little later easy 6 miles. I was looking forward to a bit of a step back this week, and this was a nice way to ease into a new week. Monday is always the hardest day to get up and get moving, but once I get into the week it gets a tiny bit easier.

 

Tuesday

Tuesday morning I had another strength workout. This week the workout called for:

1.5 mile warm up
4 x 1.5 mile repeats (7:47 pace at 1% incline) with 800 recovery
1 mile cool down

I didn’t have time to complete the entire 1.5 mile cool down, but I wasn’t too worried about it. I completed the toughest part. The workout actually went pretty well. The mile and a half repeats felt relatively easy. I was tired by the end of the last one, but there wasn’t a time that I felt bad.

It’s always a good day when you have a solid workout!

 

Wednesday

I can’t tell you how much I am loving fall-like air that is out early in the morning. It felt so nice Wednesday morning. I was tired, but completed 6.5 easy miles before heading to work.

 

Of course, my most telling workout of the week happens this morning, so keep your fingers crossed for me! This week my tempo goes from 8 miles to 9 miles. Aside from adding an extra mile this means getting up about 15 minutes earlier in the morning. Oh well!

 

I wanted to share an interested article I was reading over the weekend with you.

Over the weekend we got our new copy of Running Times in. This is one of my favorite magazine! I spent a majority of our trip down to see my family the other night reading through it in the car.

I immediately noticed an article in it that went along with my Monday post.

The article addresses of course the importance of easy days, but then also the many differences in opinions of what really helps you as a runner.

This paragraph caught my eye with an interest quote from Alberto Salazar:

“If you’re always worried about feeling perfect for every workout, you may never really get the conditioning you need.”

The reason it stuck out the most to me, is that this seems to be very similar to the thoughts that Hanson’s Marathon Training follows. It trains you to be able to run your workouts and long runs on tired legs. I will be the first to tell you that this is NO easy task!

The article went on to look at top runners in the world and here was a break down of their “easy” paces:

Mo Farah: 5:30 (PR is 4:53)
Marielle Hall: 6:47 (PR is 4:54)
Sally Kipyego: 8:30 (PR is 4:40)
Jason Ryf: 6:00 (PR is 5:27)

Looking at those numbers you quickly realize, everyone does things a little different! Even some of the top athletes in the world don’t train the same.

 

The article is a longer one, but in the end training on tired legs (running quicker “easy runs) versus running really slow on easy runs comes down to the athlete themselves. There are many factors that could come into play:

• Are you taking any complete rest days throughout the week?
• Are you injury prone?
• Have you recently increased your mileage?
• Are you training for something in particular?
• What stage of fitness are you in?
• Are you constantly feeling fatigued?
• Are you coming off a tough workout?

There is a difference in tired legs from tough runs and tired legs because you aren’t fueling your body properly to recover. Recovery plays a big role but it doesn’t always mean that your legs are never tired.

Running on tired legs does have it’s advantages. It teaches you to run when your tired and that can come in handy at the last stages of your marathon or race. You are teaching your body how to adapt. However, for me it is not something that can be sustained. Easy recovery running keeps me from injury and keeps me sane.

The workouts, tempos and long runs are great but so are the days where I can check out, leave the Garmin at home and just relax. I can run on grass, on gravel or on the roads and just let my legs move slow and steady.

Easy running keeps me healthy. Marathon training is not meant to be sustained year round. That is why there is an off season and maintenance phase in training as well. I believe that running on tired legs AND easy days are important. I believe that they have their place both throughout the week and throughout your training cycle.

 

How do you feel about running on tired legs?

How much slower is your easy run pace than your race pace? Mine is about 1.5 – 2 minutes slower.