Class 6

Thanks for making me look good today to the class evaluator. He was checking the teacher, not the students.

This run simulated a two- or four-mile race, where you pushed the pace in the latter half as you would while racing. There, of course, you would go harder at the start -- as many of you will do in Sunday's Run with the Duck 5K. It will count as extra class credit.

On Tuesday the distances will be 2.75 and 5.5 miles. Meet again in front of the Rec Center.

TODAY'S SLOW/FAST "16 MINUTES"

(with actual time and comparison of halves; target was to finish faster, or run a "negative split")

Dameri -- 14:35 (-1:25 for 2nd half)

TODAY'S SLOW/FAST "32 MINUTES"

(same info as above)

Erica -- 29:40 (-2:20)

Sara --- 29:05 (-2:50)

Joe -- 29:45 (-2:15)

Teja -- 27:10 (-4:50) tie for best negative split; extra credit

Anna -- 28:20 (-3:40)

Owen -- 27:10 (-4:50) tie for best negative split; extra credit

Juan -- untimed

LESSON 6: GOING FASTER

A little bit of speed training goes a long way. In fact, a little bit is all you should do because, in excess, speed kills. Most runners can tolerate fast training that totals only about 10 percent of weekly mileage. This can come two major ways and one minor one. The first big way is as intervals – a training session of short, fast runs with recovery breaks between. The other main way to train for speed is the tempo run – at race pace or faster for a shorter distance. The smaller way to gain and maintain speed is with “strides” – ending the warmup by striding out for a hundred yards or so, one to five times, at the top speed that you would ever race. Strides also have value at the finish of a relaxed run, as a reminder to push at the end of a race.