Want A PR?: My 3 Favorite Speed Workouts To Make A Personal Record Happen
By admin
Happy Sunday! Did you have a fun Kentucky Derby Day? We had a blast at my friend Cassie’s house, celebrating the horse race in style.
My Saturday started off with a run. I had been excited for this run all week but when I woke up and heard rain the excitment fell, fast.
I ended up doing most of my workout on a treadmill until the boredom monster kicked me off and pushed me to hit the roads for the last few miles. Overall I managed to do 8. Not bad for the circumstances!
I know I haven’t been talking about running as much lately, I just haven’t wanted to talk a ton about it. I guess it was because of all the runs I had last month I just needed a run-talk detox.
Now, I’m back… and ready to share what I’ve been up to.
It’s no secret that I have been focusing a lot on speed instead of distance lately. For the past year, I’ve been adding miles upon miles to my training just to see how far I can go. Sure, I was doing intervals regularly for speed but I wouldn’t say it was a priority.
Now that I am comfortable at my distance (I try to stay in half-marathon shape), it’s time to focus on PRs, or setting personal records.
I’m itching to have a paper bib pinned on my shirt, itching to have that adrenaline rush that comes right before I hear a gun being pulled for the start of a race. I’m itching to see what I can freaking accomplish with others around me.
For the first time ever, I am actually putting together structured speed workouts (with the help of this girl of course).
After a few weeks of experimenting, reading, and actually running, here are my favorite speed focused workouts.
As a wise woman once told me, “You’re only going to hit your PR-pace if you actually practice running it.”
Smart, right?
Whether its for a 5K or a marathon, speed work is important. You’re going to be uncomfortable on race day, but you might be a bit less if you actually train for what you want to accomplish.
I use a track for my speed work, so it’s easy to figure out distance. However, if you don’t have that luxury and you want to stay outside, then I suggest either driving to determine how far 0.25 miles (400m) is or use MapMyRun.
The Speedy Gonzales Workout
The Cheetah Within Workout
The Long Descent Workout
Give one or all of these a try and let me know what you think!
Now excuse me, I am off to the gym to start working on a big blog post piece for this week. I am really excited about it and can’t wait to share!
Do you like speed work?
If you could pick one animal to describe you while running or working out, what animal would it be?
That’s a tough question! I think I would be a deer… I’m stubborn and strong but when I need to I can find some speed within!