Fitness Metrics in Retrospect
Whether it was an effort to improve performance, lose weight or gain more muscle, metrics have been the one constant that plays an integral part of my fitness journey. To successfully navigate my way through various parts of my fitness journey, I must be able to describe its various aspects. I must be able to draw a picture that can be improved. The achievement of success outcomes seems always to involve developing a strategy to reach goals that derived through analysis.
Run Faster!
In the midst of training for my first triathlon, I was running approximately 30 miles per week. On any given week I would typically run a two-mile, a three-mile, a five-mile, a seven-mile, and a 12-mile route. With the help of my cycling computer, I had all of the courses mapped out, and with the help of a stopwatch, I was able to maintain conscious of my mile times throughout each run.
On a typical week, I would do a 1 mile timed trial on a Monday morning. I would usually do two-mile runs on weekday mornings Tuesday through Friday; three to five-mile evening runs early in the week. I would do a seven mile run on a Thursday or Friday evening. I would do my twelve mile runs on Saturday mornings. Sundays would be my rest days.
Optimize for Speed!
To understand how to optimize my training for speed took some time, though. My one-mile times were good but not as fast as I imagined they would be. I needed a recipe: the recipe for running fast. It took me a while to learn the method for running fast: a good foundation of base miles coupled with speed training.
I imagine I had been running about 20 to 30 miles per week for many months. I had also been weight training three times per week. I devised a plan where would mix my strength training with speed training. For example, if I had 12-upper strength training exercises to do, I would do the first three exercises and quickly follow them up with a six-minute 1/4 mile on the treadmill. I would follow that with three more upper body strength training exercises with another six-minute 1/4 mile on the treadmill. Then there were the next three exercises, a six-minute 1/4 mile and the last three strength training exercises followed by a six-minute 1/4 mile.
Results!
I completed four weeks of these workouts. On the fifth Monday, my mile time was exactly at six minutes. Six minutes was at least 1-minute faster than my fastest mile time up until then.
I cannot imagine it working any better. The interesting thing though, over time, the same workout yielded better results. About a couple of years of using that strategy, I can remember being on a seven-mile Friday-evening run and running the first mile (of seven) in under 5'30". Incredible. I had not run that fast on a seven-mile run ever. Even more interesting than that was the fact that I was running exceptionally well and still had six more miles to go. I was surprised. Throughout the next six miles, there was one question in my mind that I could not answer: how was I going to maintain this pace? Was I going to run the seven miles in 45 minutes or would it be 51minutes as usual?
In retrospect, I would change one thing about that experience: I would have expected to run faster than a six-minute mile when I did my mid-distance mile training.
Looking forward, I am even more confident that I can expect to achieve (and sometimes exceed) my fitness goals by choosing to follow the right recipe and proven methods.
Run Faster!
In the midst of training for my first triathlon, I was running approximately 30 miles per week. On any given week I would typically run a two-mile, a three-mile, a five-mile, a seven-mile, and a 12-mile route. With the help of my cycling computer, I had all of the courses mapped out, and with the help of a stopwatch, I was able to maintain conscious of my mile times throughout each run.
On a typical week, I would do a 1 mile timed trial on a Monday morning. I would usually do two-mile runs on weekday mornings Tuesday through Friday; three to five-mile evening runs early in the week. I would do a seven mile run on a Thursday or Friday evening. I would do my twelve mile runs on Saturday mornings. Sundays would be my rest days.
Optimize for Speed!
To understand how to optimize my training for speed took some time, though. My one-mile times were good but not as fast as I imagined they would be. I needed a recipe: the recipe for running fast. It took me a while to learn the method for running fast: a good foundation of base miles coupled with speed training.
I imagine I had been running about 20 to 30 miles per week for many months. I had also been weight training three times per week. I devised a plan where would mix my strength training with speed training. For example, if I had 12-upper strength training exercises to do, I would do the first three exercises and quickly follow them up with a six-minute 1/4 mile on the treadmill. I would follow that with three more upper body strength training exercises with another six-minute 1/4 mile on the treadmill. Then there were the next three exercises, a six-minute 1/4 mile and the last three strength training exercises followed by a six-minute 1/4 mile.
Results!
I completed four weeks of these workouts. On the fifth Monday, my mile time was exactly at six minutes. Six minutes was at least 1-minute faster than my fastest mile time up until then.
I cannot imagine it working any better. The interesting thing though, over time, the same workout yielded better results. About a couple of years of using that strategy, I can remember being on a seven-mile Friday-evening run and running the first mile (of seven) in under 5'30". Incredible. I had not run that fast on a seven-mile run ever. Even more interesting than that was the fact that I was running exceptionally well and still had six more miles to go. I was surprised. Throughout the next six miles, there was one question in my mind that I could not answer: how was I going to maintain this pace? Was I going to run the seven miles in 45 minutes or would it be 51minutes as usual?
In retrospect, I would change one thing about that experience: I would have expected to run faster than a six-minute mile when I did my mid-distance mile training.
Looking forward, I am even more confident that I can expect to achieve (and sometimes exceed) my fitness goals by choosing to follow the right recipe and proven methods.