Training Re-Orientation

I am always searching for more efficient training methods.  Logging hours  upon hours of training miles simply does not fit into my life.  I want to get as much benefit from running for as little training as possible.

That being said, if I am testing my fitness level with five kilometer (3.1 miles) races, I need to be able to proficiently run this length. My Achilles heel for nearly every race I have run is I lack the discipline to begin the race at a moderate pace and consequently finish the race strong.

In the course of the next month I am going to heavily incorporate the training practice of running 'negative splits.' into my regimen  Running in general suffers from a marketing abyss and the person who coined this term most likely did s not possess a marketing lineage.  In essence, the term translates to running faster interval times as you progress through a run or race. How about the phrase 'stronger longers' ?  I confess, I am not marketing savvy either.

My quarter mile splits for the Miller's Mutual Mile in Harrisburg last Wednesday were  1:25 (one minute and twenty five seconds) , 1:35, 1:44 and 1:45, respectively.  My splits, or intervals, increased as the run progressed. (i.e. it took me longer to run each successive quarter mile)  A set of negative splits or intervals would look like 1:42, 1:39,:1:36, 1:32 .  This hypothetical set of splits would indicate I ran faster as the race progressed.  The only way to achieve this pattern is to pace yourself from the onset.  (Both sets of times add to equal  6:29 for the mile.)

More experienced runners exhibit a negative split format within their races and runs. I'll hearken back to the days when I was younger and heard a story (one of Aesop's fables) about the tortoise and the hare.  My interpretation of this story is a measured deliberate pace will be more effective than a full-bore assault from the onset, ala the hare.

I decided to try this negative split training method this past weekend.  In order to progressively run faster intervals, you must begin at a slower pace.  The notion I can run a faster by holding back at any point in the race is counter-intuitive to myself at the moment.  I feel as though by holding back in the beginning I am allowing seconds to slip away which can not be reclaimed.

I began the run very slowly, at a  pace on the order of ten minutes per mile.  For this six mile run I decided to increase my pace at the conclusion of each mile.  Because you are tiring as you are attempting to pick up the pace at the end of each mile, it is doubly difficult to accelerate your pace as the miles run accumulate.

I was able to run each successful mile faster than the previous, but it was extremely taxing during the last mile to run at my fastest pace of the entire run.  I also did not post a very fast time on the outing as a whole.  Oh well - I guess this is why this training method is regarded a character builder.