Run Run Run

wow! you have a lot of energy left at the end. maybe you could push a bit more throughout the whole thing? i pretty much always try to finish strong for the last .10 or so... just like if i were in a race; you gotta kick at the end! it may be dumb. i've never really gotten anyone's opinion on whether or not it is "smart" or not to do all the time during training.

nice EARLY run!

Thanks KP. I thought that might be the answer... push a little harder throughout so I don't have as much left at the end.

Early morning is definitely tough for me to do, but then no one is crabby pants at home when I want to run after work. Plus a predicted 86 degrees and 100% humidity get me up early everytime!

I'd say that speeding up toward the end is fine. Depending on what your overall training looks like, speeding up at the end might be a good idea (i.e., if it's the only speedwork you get).

One thing to remember is that you don't need to feel blasted at the end of each run, but if you're feeling good toward the end, by all means, go ahead and pick it up; I do it all the time. (I guess for clarity's sake I should note that when I say I pick it up, usually I get up to a little slower than tempo pace for around the last mile or two.)

The key is to make sure that your "easy" runs are just that: easy. Picking it up a little toward the end is fun, and I guess I probably average doing it once or twice per week on easy runs; however, as a whole, I would still classify those runs as "easy" overall.

The purpose of the slow easy runs is to accustom your body to handling the running more easily and more efficiently (or, if you want to talk in all those funny multi-syllabic physiological words, strengthening the cardiac muscle and making the alveoli in the lungs more efficient, while simultaneously increasing both the number of capillaries going to various musculature and increasing the amount of mitochondria and red blood cells in the blood)

The trick to all that is to keep it easy (again, for the bulk of the run), because the energy storage, conversion, and delivery systems involved in slow running are all sustainable and need to be sustained for a decent amount of time for improvement, while the energy systems associated with speed are a little different and definitely not sustainable.

As an aside, recovery from slower runs is a lot easier than fast runs (less wear and tear to repair), which lets you get back out there sooner (always a plus...)

All that being said, I go back to my annoyingly ubiquitous "run how you feel" statement. When I feel like running faster, I run faster. (maybe one day I'll be a real runner with a real training plan...)

Sorry for the long winded (wow, that got out of hand...), confusing, maybe even contradictory post, but there's my $0.02...

Thanks again for dropping the knowledge Nevels.... always appreciated!