Pick up the Pace

Last night was my second track workout and it was, once again, awesome. I think about how often I run and how many miles I log and that it feels great to be able to go out and do a 4 mile run no problem. But I love these track workouts because they take me out of the comfort zone of going for a normal run...they really work me. I left the workout yesterday literally soaked through with sweat (awesome visual, I know). Granted, the humidity was pretty close to that of a steam shower, but still. I leave the workout feeling a bit exhausted but at the same time, so amazing. It makes you realize how we tend to not really push ourselves, or at least I don't on my normal runs. Sometimes I'll do a more hilly course or run a bit faster but it's still fairly comfortable. One thing the coach said yesterday was, "it may feel uncomfortable...actually, it should feel uncomfortable and if it doesn't, pick up the pace." What an awesome statement...if you are coasting through, you're not working hard enough.

I talked a bit with some of the coaches about these sort of sprint workouts and their benefits. Now, I studied Exercise Science in college so I have a good background in human physiology and the mechanics of exercise and their effect on the body but it's always nice to hear it from a true runner/athlete.

Picking up the pace, incorporating sprint intervals into your workout has a whole myriad of benefits:

• Logging many miles a week at a nice steady pace uses what are called "slow twitch" muscle fibers...these are the fibers that help you go the distance and utilize oxygen to generate more "fuel". Sprinting requires maximum recruitment of muscles. It requires "fast twitch" muscle fibers to activate...these are not fibers you use very often and therefore you are engaging and building a whole other set of muscles. Fast twitch muscle fibers are anaerobic, meaning they do not use oxygen, which is why they fatigue more rapidly than slow twitch. This will aid in fat loss as well as muscle growth that will end up assisting you in those longer, slower runs.
  
• Sprinting increases HGH (human growth hormone) which increases muscle mass, adds thickness and flexibility to skin, enhances your immune system, increases weight loss and redistribution of fat and increases stamina.
• Sprinting works out your heart...you are placing high stress on your heart but for shorter periods of time...this will cause you heart to become more efficient at processing blood and oxygen. Your heart is a muscle and just like skeletal muscle, it needs to be worked out and built up to work more efficiently.
  
• Spring workouts are fun!! They decrease monotony and increase the amount of benefit you get in a shorter period of time.

Suggested beginning track workout (if you are running 8:30-9 min/mile average):

• Warmup 1.5-2 miles at your normal, daily pace
• 4x400 at 1:50min pace (4x400 means doing one 400 at fast pace, then one slow recovery lap and repeating that 3 more times for a total of 4 "sets")
• The key is to maintain a consistent pace - time yourself and make sure you are hitting the 200m split at approximately the halfway point in time. So if you are doing a 1:50min pace for the 400, you want to hit the 200m mark at 55 seconds.
  
• 2x200 at 0:47-0:50 second pace (same layout as the 400s except you are going 200 fast, 200 slow, 200 fast, 200 slow)
• Cool-down 1.5-2 miles at a nice easy pace

And if you don't have a coach, or access to a track workout group, take a buddy! It's always better to have a partner to chat with as well as keep each other in line when you start feeling like you can't run any farther.