Those of you who have been reading (never home)maker for a while may have read my Ode to my 17-year-old Self post. Back then, The Mile was an event that absolutely terrified me. I hated it with the very core of my being. I felt it was unfair and just plain wrong that our gym requirement included the Presidential Physical Fitness Tests . . . culminating with four lengthy laps around the track.
I would huff and puff my way to an OK time and spend the rest of the day feeling awful. I wasn't athletic in any way, shape, or form. I was a classic band nerd -- including EVERYTHING else I could get myself into: jazz band, bell choir, community orchestra, town band, etc. I was the president of chorus -- and, much like with band, was in every single ensemble that would take me. I was also in the school musicals. You get the picture. I couldn't have cared any less about sports. And though I was always thin, it was certainly not in a healthy way.
Anyway, I'm proud to say that one of my new running goals for summer is to respect speed work like it's my boss. Well, actually, Stephen will be my boss -- he's committed to teaching me how "real" speed work is done. You know, all that stuff the athletes learned while I was dancing across stage singing "Naughty Baby" in our production of Crazy for You.
OK. To start, Tuesday I ran the dreaded mile. It's been FOREVER since I've timed myself. And since we've been focusing chiefly on distance training -- it's also been FOREVER since I've made myself run all-out fast. The last time I timed myself running a single mile, I was just shy of 7 minutes (6:58 back in 2004).
This time? 6:48!!! And I have proof (this chart is from using Stephen's Garmin, so we know it's more accurate than mine):
Check. It. Out. Anyway, I'm excited to start working more on my speed. And I'm especially happy that Stephen will be helping me, because he's like a speed God. (Of course, I'll be sharing his words of wisdom and motivations along my journey.) My goal is to get this number down to maybe 6:30 by the end of the summer (I will be timing myself again in late August). Now, I often get ahead of myself, but there's this nifty tool called the Race Time Predictor. It estimates your race finish times for a variety of distances using a single timed race.
Based on my 6:48 time, my age, etc. -- all those "predicted" times for me are ALMOST spot on (at least for my recent race times with the 5K, 10K, and half marathon distances -- my 15K was actually about a minute faster). It's super weird. What's even stranger (or, perhaps, more exciting?) is that my predicted marathon time is 3:41:44. If I could pull this off and shave just one minute more off that time . . . I'd, GASP, qualify for BOSTON!
We'll see about that. Definitely an ultimate goal of mine. But as you may remember, many things can happen in the middle of a marathon (read all about it here). I thought I could finish in about 3:55 last year. But halfway though, a foot injury had me hobbling for 12 or so painful miles. But that's not the point. The point is: In the absence of a clear goal right now (I'm not hoping to PR at the Lake Placid Half because it's so hilly), I created one for myself. Moreover, this month's issue of Runner's World has me thinking about my overall fitness. There's an entire section devoted to a "test," if you will, that's eerily similar to the Presidential Fitness Test we had back in school.
So, over the next couple weeks, I'll be posting my results as I work my way through all the challenges. It's a way for me to get moving and discover my potential. But I hope you, too, will feel inspired to push yourselves to the MAX. It's fun. It's often, at least in the case of my mile, pleasantly surprising.
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6 comments:
Wow great mile time!! Those calculators are eerily on target, and I hope it's right for my upcoming marathon. I just read this thing yesterday about Yasso 800s theory- if you can run 10 800s, all at at 3:40 (minute) pace, this predicts you will run a marathon in 3:40 (hours). We shall see. I can say for certain speed work recently has improved my long run speed. But also, I think speed work is the most fun part of training. It'll be great to see what you can do!
Oh! Good luck, Katie!!! :)
you're my hero. speed training is also what I am going to be working on all summer until I finally decide to sign up for something looooooooong and that I hopefully will be able to finish faster--not as fast as you, speed girlie, but hopefully fast for me. My goal is to beat that Given's time in a marathon who ragged on slow runners.
I love speed workouts! It's amazing what they do for your time and those miles accumulate FAST and you don't even realize it. There's nothing like a post-speed workout sore either. Looking forward to reading the posts and seeing how you progress! It's interesting, did you see the post that lululemon had on their facebook page today? It's about taking advantage of and enjoying the speed workouts when your young and can do them!
According to that calculator, I should be able to run a 4 hour marathon. Uh oh. New goal!
In elementary school, I failed the physical fitness test (laziness) and had to go to Remedial Gym. No joke. I like to think I've come a long way. ;)
Nice! So I just found your blog and I am in love. My soon-to-be husband and I are about your age and also runners. He is also the "speed God" of the two of us and has inspired me to dedicate this training season to speed training. Anyway, my next marathon is in October and my goal is Boston! So, I hope to read more of your speed training experience since I'll be working on it myself. Can't wait to read more!
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