I’ve got to scoot…more conference calls and Skype meetings this afternoon! Thank heavens for the world wide interwebs! Again, I promise to write more soon! Stay tuned!

P.S. – Oh, and that bike race last Friday night? I got 2nd place in the Women’s Fat Tire division! WOOT!

When I lived in South Carolina, my husband and I went cycling ALL THE TIME. There is a huge cycling community there thanks to George Hincapie and the City of Greenville has been very progressive about passing laws and ordinances that protect and support cyclists in the community. While it is a massive project that is still in the works, one of my favorite places to run/ride is on the Swamp Rabbit Trail. If you are ever in Upstate South Carolina, check it out. It’s beautiful! And if you are a lady cyclist, be sure and check out Pedal Chic! It is my favorite bike shop and its for ladies only! I love their motto…”roadways are the new runways”! YES!

So, why do I get off on this cycling tangent?

Because…I have registered for a bike race! I am not sure whether I should be excited or nervous…probably a combination of the two…but The Red Stick Crit is going down tomorrow night whether I like it or not. The Red Stick Crit will be my first bike race since moving to Louisiana and will be my first bike race based on time. I have done a couple of charity bike rides in South Carolina, but that was many moons ago.

I should probably mention that I don’t have a road bike. Yeeeeeah…

BUT, they DO have a fat tire division! WIN! I will be riding this beauty tomorrow night…

A crit (short for criterium) is “a bike race held on a short course (usually less than 1km), often run on closed-off city center streets.” (Thanks, Wikipedia!) Tomorrow night’s race course will held on a 0.91mi loop. The race length will be based on time. In this case, the goal for each division is to complete as many laps as possible in 10:00 minutes. Basically, I just have to pedal as hard and as fast as I can for ten minutes. I can do that, right? Yeah, probably. I am hoping that by registering for the fat tire division that I will not end up making too much of a fool of myself…then again, if I do, it will just be par for the course. But, hey, at least I will have tried!

My goal last year was to upgrade to a “real” road bike, spend more time in the saddle, and take my cycling more seriously. Then I got pregnant…and the “road bike fund” became the “baby stuff fund.” It is not looking like I will be able to upgrade this year either, so I am just going to continue enjoying my Trek hybrid until I am able to get a better bike. I am certainly NOT complaining about my Trek hybrid. She has been so good to me and, overall, I think this is an excellent bike for the money spent on it.

When I am not cruising around my ‘hood on my Trek, I can also be spotted on my Electra Navy Cruiser. I love her. Her name is Blue Betty. She is what I call my “3-speed Cadillac of bikes”…obviously built for comfort and not for speed. She gets a lot of attention when we are out in public together. Basically, Electra took a little girl’s bike (leather handlebar streamers, ching-ching bell, and all!) and super-sized it for women. Blue Betty was my first bike and I will never get rid of her. And, yes, I often talk about her as if she is a person.

All in all, I am looking forward to tomorrow night. If nothing else, it will be a new experience and I am always down for that! Plus, a bike race breaks the monotony of road races!

Are you into cycling too? Have you ever ridden in a bike race (of any size) or participated in a charity bike ride?

Bad News: I am NOT becoming the fifth member of The Starland Vocal Band. (Super sad face)

GOOD NEWS: I was selected for Nuun’s 2012 Hood to Coast Team!!! HEYO!!

The big announcement came at 2PM PST yesterday and as soon as I clicked on their site and saw my name…I freaked!! I am SO amped, y’all! I made it!

So much good stuff is going to come out of this experience, I just know it! I have so many thoughts and questions and ideas…I don’t even know where to start! So many of the other running bloggers that I follow and talk it up with on Twitter will be there. I simply cannot wait to put faces with names…and, as always, I love the opportunity to turn online friends into in-real-life friends! Plus, I have never traveled to the Pacific Northwest, so I am super jazzed to see (and run in!) a different part of the country!

In the meantime, if you want to check out my teammates and see what they are up to, you can check out their blogs at the link above or you can subscribe to the list on Twitter that Dorothy made!

START: Friday, August 24, 2012 (Mt. Hood, Oregon)
FINISH: Saturday, August 25, 2012 (Seaside, Oregon)

These dates work out perfectly for me.  By then, I will have “graduated” my TurboFire program and I will be feeling strong!  YES!  Over the next couple of weeks, I will be getting more details about the event and I will be sure to share them all with you!

Have you ever run an ultramarathon relay before? Have you ever run Hood to Coast before? Got any advice for me about the race or about the Pacific Northwest, in general?

Yesterday afternoon I raced home to pick up my TurboFire/Shakeology Challenge Pack! I was like a kid in a candy store and I may or may not have actually done a happy dance when I had the box in my hands!

Want to know what I got? Here is a quick intro…

Note: The weighted gloves were not part of the challenge pack. I ordered these separately. This is an accessory that is also available through Beachbody. I wanted to really get my arms toned, so I will be using them with the TurboFire program.  You can find them in the Beachbody store under “TurboJams Gear.”

As soon as I got everything out of the box and set up on my table, I got down to the business of taking my “before” photos and recording my beginning measurements. While I know that taking before photos and measurements is an essential step, the whole process made me cringe. Shedding my shirt, standing there in from of the camera in my running knickers and a sports bra…Oh Lord, I felt gross. And then I started taking my measurements.

The last time I took my measurements was a couple of years ago when I was being fitted for a bridesmaid dress. At the time, I was working out regularly and I was pretty proud of my numbers. Yesterday? Yeah, notsomuch. Seeing the numbers written down in my notebook made me tear up a little. It was a stark reminder of how much my body has changed and just how much work I have to do to get it back where I want it.

I had a pity party for a minute or two and then reminded myself that the only thing I can do is what I am doing…focusing on healthy eating and an exercise program. Diligence! Persistence! I have to keep reminding myself what the end goal is…fast, fun, happy running! I want to be a joyous, strong runner again!

Initial Reaction of Package Contents
It seems that Beachbody has given me all of the tools to be successful. In addition to the DVDs and resistance bands, there is ample literature explaining the methodology of the program, why HIIT training is so effective, and how to monitor your nutrition throughout the duration of the program. I didn’t have time to read all of this last night, but I plan to do so today. I want to follow the nutrition program as well so that I can truly maximize my results.

Initial Reaction of First Workout: Fire 30 Class + Stretch 10 Class
It took me a whole 2.7 seconds to fall in love with this workout. Once the DVD was in, absolutely no time was wasted jumping into the workout. This is good for me. I need something I can get in, work out, and get on with my day. The Fire 30 Class was about 35 minutes long and I TOTALLY feel like I got a good workout. By the time it was done I was dripping with sweat and I moved muscle groups that I haven’t used in SO long with just running. The Stretch 10 Class was a great way to wind down and the focus on stretching out the arms and rotator cuffs was a nice change. The rotator cuff is a body part that I rarely stretch out and the DVD serves as a good reminder that all parts of the body need attention. Today, I am feeling “good sore.” I am not so sore that I feel like I can’t do anything, but I am sore enough that I really feel like I worked hard. This is a phenomenal feeling! That slight soreness means I am triggering muscles that I hadn’t been in previous workouts and this is EXACTLY what I was hoping to achieve from this program. I am already looking forward to this evening’s workout! Woot!

Initial Reaction of Shakeology: Chocolate
After my workout, I went inside to make my first Shakeology shake. Normally, I will be drinking this for breakfast, but since it had not arrived until yesterday evening, I made it my dinner. Let me say this…I am really impressed with the way this stuff tastes! Although you can mix it with other things like skim milk, almond milk, etc., I just mixed it with tap water since I was kind of in a hurry (mama duties were calling!). The taste was really good and very chocolately. The best part? No weird chalky or powdery after taste. I have tried several other protein/nutritional shakes including EAS AdvantEdge (Rich Chocolate), Big Train Fit Frappe (several flavors), and Spiru-Tein (Chocolate). This product, by far, has a smoother texture and better taste, though I will say it compare most closely by taste to the Big Train products. I look forward to trying some of the shake recipes that were included in the package!

This morning, I made another shake and ate an apple. I have not felt this full after an “on the go” breakfast in a really long time! I am excited to see the long-term effects of the Shakeology program. If you are interested in learning more about just the Shakeology, you can check out their website or YouTube it to see personal results videos.

(Side Note: I will put it out there that I did sign up to be a Beachbody coach…mostly for the discounts. Hello? Who doesn’t like to save money?? However, if you are interested in trying anything from Beachbody, it would be cool if you ordered it through me. No pressure, but if you have any questions or want to order anything, you can always e-mail me.)

So, that brings me to today. I’m going to spend some time today really understanding the nutritional guide and making a grocery list. I want to stock my refrigerator and pantry with all of the right things so I have no excuse not to make healthy eating choices. And like my friend, Kristyn, suggested…I plan on shopping from the edges of the grocery store as much as possible! I also want to plan out meals that work for ME, as some of the recipes suggested on the plan include ingredients that make me gag.

As always, I will be blogging this whole journey. That way, if it works and I have crazy good results, I can remember exactly how I got there! In the meantime, I will be using MyFitnessPal to log my daily meals, water intake, and what not. If you are on there, add me as a friend! You can find me under username “katiemkey”.

In other (equally EXITING!) news…Nuun is announcing the women they have selected to participate in the Nuun Hood to Coast Relay teams! There will be three all-female, all-blogger teams and I really hope I make the cut! I heard about this last year via other bloggers I follow who participated. The experiences they shared were incredible and it looked like so much fun, so I wanted to make sure I got my name in the hat for this year. I submitted my entry a few weeks ago and I have been anxiously awaiting the announcement. The selected members will be announced today at 12PM PST! Fingers crossed! I have never been to that part of the country and I have never run Hood to Coast before and I feel like this would be an experience of a lifetime! And to represent an awesome company like Nuun? Yes, please!

What’s happening in your world today? Are you mixing up your workouts? Are you trying any new products that you like and think I should check out too?

That, friends, was a lie. Genetics are against me.

I worked my tail off losing the weight before and I knew it would take that same feverish diligence for me to do it again. However, this time around, I don’t have 2-3 hours each night to spend at a gym and I don’t have 1-2 hours to prepare a meal, eat, and clean up. I am also at a new job, where my commute is much longer, drastically cutting into my exercise time at night. Oh, and I have a baby now…which, in itself, changes EVERYTHING. I know I have mentioned at least a dozen times how he *still* doesn’t sleep at night. These sleepless nights are putting me in this vicious cycle of being tired, half-assing my runs/workouts, and going through the motions of the day like a total zombie. I thought that at some point I would just get used to it, but no luck so far.

Needless to say, with all of these chips stacked against me, the weight isn’t falling off.

I am trying so desperately to stick to my #c210k running plan. I have been sticking to it, but the enthusiasm just is not there. It has started to feel like an obligation, and I hate that. I feel like I am in such a losery rut and I need to bust out of it. Like yesterday. For me, running was most fun when I felt like I was really, really pushing myself in every race…finishing with times I was proud of, feeling strong and feeling that “good burn” in my legs. I am just not there anymore and I want to be there so badly.

My legs are not as strong as they used to be. Pregnancy packed on serious weight on my thighs and I now have more junk in the trunk than I ever have in my whole life. When I look in the mirror I think I look alright, but then I see myself in photos and I **CRINGE**.

In addition to regular photos, my recent race photos completely make me shudder. I know no one looks “pretty” while they are running, but I am talking about my form. My whole body is off. No wonder running feels wonky, my form is TERRIBLE. And I know exactly what it is going to take to correct my form…stronger legs and a stronger core.

I can keep running and running and running, but I will never be where I want to be without stepping back and focusing on my foundations. Sadly, I am not one of those naturally lean people where just running will get me back into shape.

Taking this all into account, I decided I needed something that met the following criteria:

1. FUN. If it isn’t fun, I won’t do it.
2. A plan with proven results.
3. Not extensively time consuming.

What did I come up with? TurboFire and Shakeology.

I heard about this program when I was pregnant and I remember telling my husband then, “I need this! I want to do this after I have the baby!!” The infomercials (yes, infomercials) made it look so fun and it looked like a program that I could totally get down with. However, like most of these programs, it was expensive, so I didn’t order it.

Now I have realized that what I am doing isn’t working and I need the help.

Wanting to make sure this program was the right fit for me, I started doing my research. I started with YouTube. I watched about a million videos and I felt like I related to every single woman in every single video. The majority of these women are moms who, after having children, felt like they couldn’t get in the groove again. One lady’s video really resonated with me. After being unable to lose the weight, she stopped wearing cute clothes, stopped putting on make-up, and stopped caring much about her appearance. Ladies and gentlemen, this is what I have turned into. Watching this video made me cry. I immediately thought, “If she can do it, I CAN DO IT. I just have to want it bad enough.”

I WANT IT BAD ENOUGH.

This was one of my favorite videos…made by a fellow Katie…

After talking it over with my husband, I broke down and I ordered the combo pack with the TurboFire exercise program and the Shakeology nutritional supplement. And now I am like a kid in a candy store waiting to get started! At this moment it is on the FedEx delivery truck making its way to my house and I simply cannot wait to get home and get started on it tonight! I have never been this excited about starting a new program EVER.

So, for now, I’m going to cut my running down to one to two times per week (possibly throwing in a third run on the weekend if one of my friends wants to get together) and focus on dropping pounds and losing inches.

FOR ME, BEING A SUCCESSFUL RUNNER MEANS BEATING THE MENTAL BLOCKAGE.

I know that if I can just start getting some of the inches off, I will feel so much more confident in my running clothes and I will want to run more…and harder and faster. I know to some people this may sound completely ludicrous, but this is how my brain operates. I need to do whatever it takes for me to regain my confidence. I am confident that TurboFire, coupled with a healthy diet, will show me some results.

And before I move on, let me just say this…I KNOW I AM NOT FAT. I am not going to sit here and say, “Oh, I’m so fat. Woe is me.” because I know I am not fat. But I AM soft…and squisy…and I hate it. I am not looking to get all beefy and lean like Jillian Michaels (who, by the way, kind of scares me). However, that doesn’t mean that I can’t be a better version of me…and I am ready for it.

In addition to getting down with TurboFire, I have also decided that I need to take better care of my skin. Since Baby Key was born, my skin has been broken out and I look like I have the face of a teenager. Thanks A LOT, hormones. I have tried everything, even worked with a dermatologist, and nothing seems to be working. This, coupled with the weight I cannot seem to lose, has really been doing a number on me. I feel like I am withdrawing socially and I avoid every camera that I see. This is SO unlike me.

To help me get control over the skin issues, I ordered Proactiv. I resisted this for SO long, but again, after reading about it and seeing undeniable results with others’ skin, I decided to order it. It arrived last week and I used it for this first time this morning. We will see how this goes.

With both the TurboFire/Shakeology and Proactiv systems, I will be taking before photos and recording before measurements (in regards to the TurboFire). At the end of the program, or possibly at milestones along the way, I will post photos, videos, and new measurements, keeping you updated on my progress. I know that posting the “before” photos will be mortifying because I know what I look like now, but I am hoping that my “after” photos will be so amazing that I will not even care.

I know it sounds like I have become the 1 (800) Number As Seen On TV Queen, but I promise you that I have not been paid to endorse or promote these programs. These programs were paid for 100% out of my own pocket and the future results and comments on the program (whatever they may be) are completely my own.

Have you ever looked in the mirror and said, “This has got to change NOW”? What did you do? What was your tipping point?

Start line! This went up at 3:00AM.

Having been on both sides of the registration table allows me to have a unique perspective when it comes to planning/managing a race. As someone who has done a stupid amount of races, I feel like I have a good understanding of what a runner expects, what a runner is impressed by, and what makes them want to come back again. As a race director/manager/member of staff, I also know what is/is not feasible and what things are/are not under our control.

That being said, I wanted to share a few things about what it is like to be on the staff side of the registration table…

1. If you did not register online ahead of time, please do not fuss at me if the race is sold out when you arrive at packet pick-up. Most races publish online registration links MONTHS ahead of time. Additionally, throughout the online registration period, you will often see discount codes published to further encourage online registration. If there is a race you really want to run, go ahead and sign up for it. Once online registration closes, we will open the remaining spots to registrants who sign up in-person at packet pick-up. For a successful race, this may mean only 10-15 remaining spots, and those are on a first come first served basis. If you show up in the last hour of packet pick-up on the day before the race and we say we are sold out, I assure you, we are sold out.


Me and @RunningWithSass!

2. If a race is sold out, please do not beg and plead for me to register you. Look, I *hate* being the bad guy. However, permits from the city only allow a certain number of people. If we ever hope to have a race in that city again, we simply CANNOT go above the number allowed on our permit. If we do, this could involve legal ramifications beyond what you are aware of. I promise to do all I can to find a way to get you in this race, but if I cannot get you registered and I have no more entries left, please respect that.




3. If it is highly advertised that there is no race-day packet pick-up, please do not fuss at me on the morning of the race if you see me standing there with a bin of packets. As a runner, I totally understand how convenient race-day packet pick-up is. And for smaller races, perhaps a 5k with only a few hundred people, that start later in the morning, race-day packet pick-up is totally feasible. However, if a race has over 1,500 people and starts at 7:00AM, there is simply no way we could get everyone’s packets to them and have the race start on time…even if we started packet pick-up at 3:00AM.


My favorite race day buddy, Ms. Diane!

4. If you have an extenuating circumstance, please e-mail/call the race director/staff ahead of time. We are not bad people. We are generally willing to work with you on your situation. However, we cannot work with you if we do not know about your situation. Letting us know about it after that fact does not help us help you before race day. If you have special needs, we really do want to accommodate you! Drop us a line or give us a shout and give us the chance to help you make arrangements for race day!




5. At the end of the race with a certified course, please do not complain that the course was too long/short. If a race has been certified, I PROMISE you that it is the correct distance. If you are running a half marathon, the only way your Garmin, RunKeeper, or other GPS device will read exactly 13.1 miles as you cross the finish line is if you hit every curve in the race course at 1 foot off from the tangent. If that makes no sense to you whatsoever, check out this post regarding running tangents.




6. If you feel like you are so sick or injured that you will not complete the race or the race will have a tremendous negative impact on your health, please do not race. Before the start of Sunday’s race, I was approached by a woman who asked at what mile she would find the first sweep vehicle (ambulance). She said that she had been having terrible hip pain, and while she had gotten half way through her training, the last several weeks were not as dedicated to her training as they should have been. Basically, she started the race fully expecting not to cross the finish line. I understand there is a fine line to teeter on when deciding whether to push on and race through an illness/injury or pulling a DNS. However, if you are thinking of starting a race with the plan of not finishing, I encourage you to rethink the race. Take the time to get well and heal. There is always another race.


Me and @Atha75!

7. If you did not earn an age group award and you notice that we have extras, please do not ask if you can have one or offer to purchase one. Age group awards for this past Sunday’s race were these cool glass drinking jars. Everyone really seemed to like them. After all of the age group awards were given out, we had a handful left over, as some age group winners had already gone home before the awards. Those who did receive their awards happily filled them with beer and continued on with the post-race party. One gentleman noticed we had extras. He asked if he could have one. I politely told him that we could not just GIVE him an award. He then asked to purchase one. I again told him that we could not make the glasses available for purchase on the same day as the event. After all, the people who won them fair and square deserve the right to revel in their accomplishment. Just giving out the extras (or worse, SELLING them) would only cheapen their award. When I explained this to him, he walked away. Moments later, I overheard this gentleman call me “the B word.” Sigh. You just can’t win with some people.




8. If you have an AMAZING time, please tell us! We work hard for months to make sure you have the best race experience possible. If we are successful, please tell us! When something goes wrong at a race or if there is something that runners really hated, you can bet we will hear about it. However, if something is overwhelmingly awesome, we want to know about that too so that we can make sure we do it again or incorporate it into our other races (if possible). If you have a great time at a race, please reach out to the race director/staff via e-mail, facebook, or Twitter to tell them about your experience. We love hearing from happy racers!

Finish line! Also went up at 3:00AM!

Have YOU directed/managed a race? How do you feel it affects you as a runner? What issues have you encountered in the past?

I am working the expo for the Crescent City Classic in New Orleans today, but I wanted to leave you with a few blog goodies…

FAST FACTS
The Crescent City Classic is the 6th largest 10k in the United States. This year, they are expecting over 18,000 runners! Wow! This year is the 34th running of the Crescent City Classic. For runners in Louisiana, this is a “must-do” race!

BLOGS I’M LOVING THIS DAYS
I’ve been house-bound since Baby Key has been sick this week, so I have been catching up on the following blogs…
The Wannabe Athlete
Running With Sass
Black Girls RUN!
Garden Variety TRI
Pavement Runner
No Meat Athlete
Stories of a Slow Triathlete
Twelve in Twelve
Vanessa Runs

In light of all the news of pink slime (GROOOOOOOOOODIE!), I am really considering becoming a vegetarian/vegan. I know this will be a drastic lifestyle change and will be difficult for me, but I am so tired of being continuously grossed out by what is going on with the meat packing industry.

I have to get back to work, but here is a little motivation to boost your running mojo…

And lastly, don’t forget that it is not too late to get in on the sweet Couch to 10k running plan! We are only in Week 2! Come run with me!

What has been keeping YOU busy this week?

After I made this decision, my friend, @RunNeicyRun, said she would get on board with me…except she wanted to go for distance while I worked on speed. No problemo! I modified the plan for each of us, based on our goals. And then I tweeted about it. And lots of people said they wanted to do it too!

And then I got excited! WOO HOO!

In fact, enough people wanted in on this sweet running action that I just decided to post the training logs here instead of e-mailing them out to everyone. So, here we go…

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COUCH TO 10k (13-Week Plan)

If you are interested in mastering the DISTANCE, here are your training logs:
c210k DISTANCE Plan (.xls)
c210k DISTANCE Plan (.pdf)

For DISTANCE runners, on your plan, where is says “RUN”, keep in mind that this does NOT mean “SPRINT.” During your “RUN” intervals, run at a speed that you feel pushes you, but not at a speed that is so fast that you tire out and feel unable to complete the entire workout.

If you are interested in mastering the SPEED, here are your training logs:
c210k SPEED (.xls)
c210k SPEED (.pdf)

For SPEED runners, your speed run and easy run/tempo run paces are to be determined by you, based on your ability. Depending on the 10k goal time that you have in mind, you can use a site like this to help you determine what your target paces are.

ACCOUNTABILITY
If you are on Twitter, after you complete a work out, I encourage you to Tweet about it so that we can all encourage each other. Be sure and add the #c210k hashtag! You can also add a hashtag with the corresponding week and day that you are on. For example, here is what I Tweeted yesterday after completing the Week 1, Day 1 workout:

As I mentioned above, I got started on this program yesterday, but you can get going whenever you like and schedule your runs on whatever days work for you.

For the #RunLA fam…If you would like to participate in this as a group, you are more than welcome to! Day 1 and Day 2 workouts of each week will be done by you, on your schedule. We can all do the Day 3 workout together! I am planning to meet on Saturday mornings at 7:00AM at Milford Wampold Memorial Park on Stanford Avenue. This time/location is tentative and is certainly flexible. If you have any suggestions for a better time/location, please e-mail me. All runners are welcome (whether you are going for distance or speed) and I promise to stay with the last runner. So, whatever your ability, I can assure you that no one will be left behind!

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And just for funsies, since I am totally ready to throw my body into a training cycle (full steam ahead!), I will also be incorporating a lower body AND core training program. I found some awesome plans over at Shrinking Jeans. I love that they are structured in such a way that they don’t feel overwhelming.

In addition to sticking with the above running program, at the end of the next 30 days, I will be able to do the following:
100 lunges*
100 squats
2:00 min burpees
2:00 min wall-sits
100 sit-ups
35 push-ups
2:30 min plank


*You’ll notice that lunges are not shown on the “Kick-Ass April” plan. Since lunges do wonders for my legs, I added these in. Each day, I will do the number of lunges equal to the number of squats listed on the workout.

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GOALS
I fully expect this to be a complete and total shock to my system. I have not done something like this in about a year and a half, but I am ready. I am MORE than ready to knock off the last of this baby weight, and I hope that we can achieve our goals together. My weight when I started the program yesterday was 159.5lb. My lowest weight ever as an adult was 129lb, but I looked too thin and I only maintained that for about a week. My realistic racing weight is around 135lb, so I am setting that as my weight goal. While I certainly do not expect to hit that target in the next 30 days, I am hoping to hit that by the end of this training cycle.

Lastly, to prove to all of you that I am doing this right along side of you, I will be adding a “LOGS” page to the top of this blog. Each day I will post my training log for the previous evening’s workout…even including my weight. GASP!

Well, I think that covers everything! Let’s get started!

So, are YOU with me? Let me know what plan you are doing and what your goals are! If you are on Twitter, leave your handle in the comment so that we can all cheer each other on!

Every good running program should be comprised of at least 3 runs per week. This includes fartleks (Swedish for “speed play”), a tempo run, and a long run.

TEMPO RUN
A tempo run (also called a lactate-threshold run) is run at a pace that is considered “steady effort” but not as fast as a 10k race pace. Tempo runs help develop your anaerobic (lactate) threshold, which is necessary for increasing your speed. Tempo runs teach your body to clear out the lactate build-up in your muscles more quickly and efficiently, thus preventing muscle fatigue. To do a tempo run, you will want to do 5 to 10 minutes of slower, warm-up running. Next, continue running for 15 to 20 minutes at about 10 seconds slower than your 10k pace. Finish this run workout with 5 to 10 minutes of cool down. A general guideline for pacing yourself (if you do not want to go by time) is to go by your breathing. For tempo runs, you should be making two footfalls while on the inhale and one footfall on the exhale. If you are breathing faster than that, slow down a little.

That looks like a LONG run!

In addition to these 3 critical runs per week, there are other types of runs you can incorporate…

EASY RUN
An “easy run” is exactly what it sounds like…an easy run. An easy run is intended to be run at a pace which can be maintained for a substantial amount of time, without much effort. A good “litmus test” for the right pace for you would be the ability to hold a conversation while running. If you are huffing and puffing on your route, you are moving too fast on your easy run. A general guideline for pace would be to add 20 to 30 seconds to your goal race pace.

YASSO 800s
Yasso 800 workouts can help you predict your marathon time by running distances of 800 meters. Yasso 800 workouts follow a simple formula…run 800m, recover (slow jog or walk) the same amount of time it took you to run the 800m, repeat. On the average track available to the public, 800m is two laps around the track. This is, by far, one of the easiest workouts to remember. My friend, BJ, wrote a great post on Yasso 800s just the other day. He covers them more in depth, so be sure to check it out!

Sounds like a lot of stuff to remember, right? Not to worry. Here is an example.

Let’s say you want to run your first half marathon with a goal of finishing in 2:30:00.

Your race day pace is: 11:26 min/mi (5.24 mph)
Your easy run pace is: 12:57 min/mi (4.63 mph)
Your tempo run pace is: 10:54 min/mi (5.50 mph)
Your fartlek/speed training pace is: 9:09 min/mi (6.67 mph)
Your long run pace is: 12:57 – 14:29 min/mi (4.63 – 4.14 mph)
Your Yasso 800s pace is: 5:03 min/800m (5.90 mph)

To help you figure out your personal training speeds, check out this page of running calculators here.

I hope this helps you understand different types of running workouts a little better. Don’t be afraid to try them!

What is YOUR favorite run of the week? How many times a week and what workouts do you incorporate?