are you training for speed or endurance?

chanstriste13

or both? i keep wanting to speed train, but anytime i think about it i automatically start pacing myself so that i'll make my distance goal. what is more important? does speed come in time, or do you have to aim and train for it? i've tried running some fartleks before with my husband, but when i did, i became so tired from that that i couldn't do my usual distance and then i would become frustrated. is that something to work through? do ya'll have any thoughts or suggestions? happy monday!

runs4zen

Right now, I'm training for speed. I'm no expert so it's all just opinion, however...I kind of figure what's the point of going all the way to the five mile mark if I'm running 13 minute miles? So, right now, I'm holding at the 4 mile mark and working to go faster. Each day I run, I'm cutting around 15 seconds off. When I get to under 10 minutes per mile (I'm at 10:30 today), I'll start moving my distance/endurance up again.

As far as fartleks....I keep thinking I'm going to try them out, but I don't want to waste a run day. So, I've been doing them here and there during my runs...which is probably why I'm cutting time. I have this one stretch of road that has a bunch of trees on it and I'll run a fartlek for three trees and then cut back to my normal pace. The real test will be running them for 4 or 5 trees, right?

I recently read an article about running twice a day to increase endurance and speed. I don't have the time to do it--and it was aimed at distance runners--but I was sort of thinking that it wouldn't be such a bad thing for those of us still working toward five miles.

Happy Tuesday!