Making Adjustments

I've been running 4 minute intervals - 3 run and 1 walk. In the past week, I started to look into whether less walk more run would make a difference. I have to admit that this all started because I let the little voice (LV) in my head get the upper hand. LV is the part of me that says if it's worth doing it must be perfect. LV keeps whispering, "you need to do more than just finish". LV is a competitive twit. 😜  If I'm going to succeed at this half marathon thing I have to ignore LV. Having said that LV did kinda do me a favor in this case because here is what I discovered. 

Jeff Galloway, the recognized mastermind behind the run/walk movement has been encouraging folks to lower their walk times. The rationale being that the benefit of the walk break is realized in the first 30 seconds. "Our heart rates come down, the running muscles relax, we catch our breaths, and the fatigue melts away." After 30 seconds we slow down more than is necessary and as a result have to run faster to maintain pace. Ok that made sense to me pretty easily. 

He also encourages cutting the run portion by the same ratio. That part I wasn't so sure about until I did the math. If I cut my run session in half as well, bringing my interval to 1 min 30 sec run / 30 sec walk, then in the same 4 minute period I'd still be doing 3 min/1 min but in two stages. The extra shorter walk breaks means less fatigue so I won't slow down as much at the end of the miles or at the end of my run intervals. Less fatigue means better mental and physical energy. It's worth a try. 

I've also re-worked my weekly long run schedule-- again! While increasing miles slowly but steadily worked in the early stages (lower miles) it does not appear to be working as well anymore. Now that I've hit 10 miles I need to allow more time to recover. I may want to defy getting older but facts are facts. I need drop back weeks more often now. The pressure to keep up or increase the distance now is weighing on me physically and mentally. I'd like to get to 13 before we go on vacation at the end of August and there is plenty of time to do that conservatively. So from here on out I'm alternating long miles (10+) with shorter mileage weeks. 

Keep Smiling Keep Moving

-Paula