Replacing Mileage with Speed

I'm now moving into phase II of my running program. Previously it was as many easy miles as I could manage, now I have 2 days of running intensity each week and I'll slot in extra easy runs when I can.

Phase I didn't end as strong as I would have liked. After weeks of 64 & 63kms, I only managed 49km last week. This is because I skipped my usual Wednesday and Friday runs. I never felt injured, but the soreness and general feeling of heaviness was increasing and I decided it was better to be cautious. Still 176km in 3 weeks is way more than I've ever managed before, so overall I am very happy. I've carried this cautious approach over to this week and skipped running on Monday and Wednesday (and may skip Friday as well) - this week's intensity is more important than the mileage.

In Phase II my Tuesday runs will involve short, fast intervals with plenty of recovery in between - what Daniels refers to as Repetitions. So yesterday I did 5 x 200m efforts with 200m recovery after each, followed by a 400m effort - all at Repetition speed which for me is 3m25s per km pace. Even with a 15 minute warmup and 15 minute cooldown run, this is a pretty small session. But being the first speed work of the season, I want to build into it gradually.

My interval times were as follows:
    200m @ 3m15s pace
    200m @ 3m15s pace
    200m @ 3m10s pace
    200m @ 3m00s pace
    200m @ 3m25s pace
    400m @ 3m20s pace

The fifth 200m was the slowest and the only one done at the correct speed. After so much easy running my body was a little too willing to go fast. It may take a while before I get used to running at the correct speeds.

Elaine was given the same set and her intervals were:
    200m @ 4m10s pace
    200m @ 4m09s pace
    200m @ 4m32s pace
    200m @ 4m10s pace
    400m @ 4m29s pace

Her target pace was 5m12s per kilometre, so she was even more eager than me. However in Elaine's case it may be time to promote her to the next speed level (we might actually skip a few). She'll also need to brush up on her counting because she only did 4 (instead of 5) 200m repeats.

Mark has been training for the upcoming Half Marathon at Run Melbourne next month. As usual he has been training very well. Unlike last year when he was training for Ironman, this season I've introduced intensity into his running program. Four weeks ago Mark ran a 1km Time Trial in 5m11s - yesterday he managed a 6 second improvement with a 1km run in 5m05s. Both of these efforts were at the end of speed work session!

If Mark follows his program he will have an easy run tomorrow. But Elaine and I will be doing four 1km efforts at Threshold pace (around Half Marathon pace) with only 200m recovery.