I ran intervals on the track yesterday. On my way out of the office, when I told my colleagues where I was going, they called me crazy. Why the heck was I running intervals just nine days after shattering into a million tiny pieces at the Boston Marathon? they asked. I told them I had my reasons. And I did.

The workout I planned was the classic 5 x 1000 meters with 400m jog recoveries. As for pace, I just planned to go by feel, since I had little sense of what I would be capable of. More important to me than running a certain pace was running a well-paced workout, which for me meant running each interval at least as fast as the previous one, running all five intervals within a few seconds of the same pace, and finishing good and tired but not exhausted.

I resolved to not even look at my watch for 400m splits. The fact of the matter was that I had been traumatized by most of the interval workouts I had done in the last 12 weeks before Boston. I was always chasing very aggressive target times and often slowing way down as the workouts unfolded as a result of going too hard in pursuit of these times at the beginning. Yesterday I just wanted to treat myself to the experience of a successful interval workout, even if my performance didn't set the world on fire.

I'm happy to report that it worked out perfectly. My interval times were 3:17, 3:16, 3:15, 3:14, 3:14. While I've certainly run this workout faster before, I consider the times not bad for me considering the fact that I had run a marathon nine days earlier and I hadn't run at this intensity for several weeks. Plus, my legs were still in a state of panic in response to the sudden imposition of almost daily bike workouts beginning a week earlier. But what made me happiest about the workout was that I did not slow downI sped up!and I did it all completely by feel.

It probably seems that I am making too much of this, but I am sick of slowing down, in both workouts and races. I got more than my fill of it in my disappointing last training cycle. I plan to make speeding up a big priority in my training and racing going forward, even if that requires me to set my sights lower for a while. In the long run, though, I believe, I will perform better as a result of getting back in touch with my limits and staying within them.

A new study relevant to this topic was recently published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. Scientists from James Cook University in Australia had a group of cyclists perform a series of 30K time trials and time to exhaustion rides. Specifically, eight moderately trained subjects rode a pair of 30K time trials at a freely chosen pace and a pair of rides to exhaustion at a fixed intensity intensity that matched their average power output in the time trials. All of the rides were done on separate occasions in a rested state.

All of the subjects started faster than they finished, but some slowed down more than others. Interestingly, those cyclists who started at greater than 105 percent of their average power output for the full 30K were able to ride farther than 30K in a ride to exhaustion performed at their average power output in the 30K TT's, clearly indicating that they could have finished their TT's with faster overall times if they had started a little slower.

The authors of the study concluded, "The present investigation provided indirect evidence that a fast start pacing strategy decreases finishing speed and overall performance in TT30, and increased TT performance can be achieved by selecting a starting pace no more than 5% above TTAvg."

Thanks for the reminder.

Wow, what a weekend we had in Chicago.  We (Chicago Endurance Sports) trained a team for the Chicago Half Marathon

and for many, it was their first shot at the distance.  So I was

pleasantly surprised to see so many of them show up at the start Sunday

even though the rain was coming down in sheets!

Chicago had what

they are now calling a "20-Year Rain" with over 8 inches in some areas

this weekend.  It just kept coming down.  The race staff had to make a

lot of last minute changes due to flooding and tackled the huge

challenge of putting on the race in horrible conditions.  I must say I

was really impressed with our runners for showing up and towing the

line on a horrible day (and a day that was perfect for sleeping in).  I

am equally impressed with all the volunteers and family and friends

that stood out there helping us run the race.  The Chicago Half

Marathon staff did a phenomenal job in challenging conditions and we

all got through it one inch at a time.

Sometimes racing in the worst conditions makes for the best of memories. 

Congrats to all that were involved!

Coach Jenny

In the major marathons, millions are raised for charities and other non-profit organizations. Most of the funds are generated by structured programs that require runners to raise @$3000-$4000 in order to earn a trip to that marathon. If the funds are not raised by a certain date, the remaining amount is charged to the runner's credit card. The Breast Cancer Marathon, in Jacksonville, Florida has come up with a less stressful way to raise significant funds.

The Marathon To Fight Breast Cancer (26.2 with Donna) doesn't require any fundraising as such, but will raise between $1 million and $2 million by my prediction. Because sponsors were supportive, 100% of the entry fee is donated to breast cancer research at Mayo Clinic and care for the underserved. I've never seen a large event donate every cent of the entry fee. Raceday is February 17^th 2008.

News anchor Donna Hicken has fought off breast cancer twice and returned to marathoning. She is in her third battle currently, but totally focused on the elimination of this disease for our sisters, wives, daughters and grandaughters. Men will also benefit because this cancer is not gender specific, and males die every year. Research is THE way to rid society of cancers of all types, and cutbacks in governmental funding for this will continue.

Many runners are entering the event as a contribution to the cause, knowing that they cannot travel to Jacksonville, FL for the event this month. On February 17, they will be running in their hometown, or the city of their friend or relative in support or memory.

I just returned from meetings in Jacksonville and am very impressed with the organization by the Special Events Staff of the City of Jacksonville. Expect a beautiful course along the beach, fun events during the weekend, many different music groups along the course. I'll be there all weekend at the expo-so come by and say "hi". When you are running on Feb 17, think of us.

Seldom do we have a chance to enjoy our running and make a difference in the health future for our families. Thanks to the thousands who will be doing this.