With a long race coming up this weekend I need to focus on speed training this week. So yesterday I headed to the track to bang out some fast run splits. I left my parachute at home, but brought my sauna suit, even though the temperature was in the 80s. The best way to acclimate to a hot race is to make your training even hotter. Plus, the sauna suit helps you burn more calories, and taking off a few extra pounds before a race is always a good thing - lighter equals faster! I also like to practice exercising with limited amounts of water, because the less water you can carry on the bike, the lighter you'll be! I have trained my body to require only one bottle for a three hour ride.
Some details about my speed intervals. As I'm sure you know, speedwork improves your pace per mile by about 30 seconds. First I warm up for two miles. Then I do 4x500 at my 5k pace. That primes me for a series of 8 fast 200s - all out as hard as I can go. Now it's back to 400s faster than 5k pace. I do 16 of these. I always do a light 200 in between each 400 as a recovery. Finally I end with a mile cooldown. I don't recommend going out and hammering out 5+ miles of speedwork. You have to build up to it. I have worked for years to improve my speed and endurance, and most people don't have the excellent ability to recover quickly that I do.
You've probably already figured out that I'm the fastest person at the track. In fact, I often get asked whether or not I am a professional athlete. "You seem so serious!" strangers tell me. Ha! That's called FOCUS suckas. Most people don't have it. Mental toughness is what this game is all about. And if you think this workout is easy, you should see the inside of my sauna suit when I'm finished.
Some details about my speed intervals. As I'm sure you know, speedwork improves your pace per mile by about 30 seconds. First I warm up for two miles. Then I do 4x500 at my 5k pace. That primes me for a series of 8 fast 200s - all out as hard as I can go. Now it's back to 400s faster than 5k pace. I do 16 of these. I always do a light 200 in between each 400 as a recovery. Finally I end with a mile cooldown. I don't recommend going out and hammering out 5+ miles of speedwork. You have to build up to it. I have worked for years to improve my speed and endurance, and most people don't have the excellent ability to recover quickly that I do.
You've probably already figured out that I'm the fastest person at the track. In fact, I often get asked whether or not I am a professional athlete. "You seem so serious!" strangers tell me. Ha! That's called FOCUS suckas. Most people don't have it. Mental toughness is what this game is all about. And if you think this workout is easy, you should see the inside of my sauna suit when I'm finished.
1 comment:
That weak workout (with only a single sauna suit & the temperatures in the 80's) makes you sweat??? You really need to toughen up.
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