Shape of runs to come...

Great part of being a runner is that you can continually challenge yourself to get better no matter what your ability level may be. I have not written a great deal about it, but I was so disappointed with my time at the Indianapolis Half-Marathon two weeks ago. My effort was great, but my time was 3 minutes slower than I thought it would be. Four miles into the race, I knew I just did not have it. It was very frustrating.

Over the past couple weeks I've just been running easy miles and letting my legs heal up from the effort. I've spent a fair amount of time wondering why I've not been able to run a great half-marathon time since 1998. You might say, "well, Josh, you are 12 years older than you were in 1998." But...that's not it. I've run some of my fastest times at any distance over the past two years. I've run a 4:55 mile, a 15:57 3 mile, a 2:48 marathon, and even a 16:47 5K. As I was thinking on those times, it made me realize the problem. I ran all of those times in 2007-08. And...the big key was that I built my speed from the 5K and then up. I've not run a half-marathon while starting my racing season with 5K's since 1998. That's probably why my half-marathons have been in the 1:19s rather than in the 1:15's or 1:16s. Even in 2007 when I was running well, I decided to run a marathon and not a half-marathon. So...I think I've found the answer.

Today was the first day of my quest to try and hit a half-marathon personal record (PR) this fall. I went to the track and ran 12 200 meter intervals with a 200 meter recovery jog. It was hard to run that fast, but it felt so good. If I continue to run short, fast workouts to build speed, start racing 5K's and building my racing distance from there, then I should be able to PR this fall in the half-marathon (or at least hit the 1:16 mark).

No matter what your speed or time goals, you have to really understand your body and how it responds to workouts designed to get you faster. Running a little faster 1-2 times a week really helps build your legs up and it strengthens them.