Everyone has unique goals for themselves, and consequently base their training around those goals. While an anticipated average pace or overall finishing time is a good way to structure your workouts and stay motivated, it’s important not to place too much emphasis on specific details all of the time. Running simply isn’t that nuanced.
The body makes different adaptations in response to different stimuli. That’s why some of our workouts are short and fast, while others are long and slow. If we were to run at our goal race pace every time we hit the road, we wouldn’t be making adaptations across the spectrum and would miss out on developing a great deal of athleticism.
While we use our rates of perceived exertion and percentages of maximum heart rate as guidelines, there is no magical threshold we cross by adding or subtracting a few beats per minute. The same pace might feel easy one day and harder the next, based on hundreds of different factors. The point is, it’s all relative, and we are either walking, jogging, running or sprinting.
The biomechanics of each movement are different, as are the energy systems/pathways that are recruited. If we fall into the common trap of only training at our goal race pace (“running”), we would lack the complexity it takes to become a well-rounded athlete. Recovery runs should be a “jog,” while your track intervals should be “sprints.”
Use these four verbal cues to “shift gears” workout-to-workout, or even within the same run, to amplify the training effect. And do yourself a favor by going for a long walk every once in a while!
Run well,
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