Sharpen your speed skills with track work

We're hopefully in the last few weeks of winter and many of the earliest spring races are just a little over a month away.  With that in mind, if you've been slugging away through the winter months on the treadmill, or are looking to sharpen your running skills and start picking up some speed, getting on the track might be just what you're looking for.

I personally have a love/hate relationship with track workouts.  On the one hand they're mentally and physically demanding and uncomfortable.  On the other hand, if you want to become a faster runner, then run fast, and one of the best ways to do that is on the track.  The balance between speed and the physical and mental stress of running track leads to one of it's greatest benefits; track work really provides you with a sense of how your body feels at different stress levels, providing you with valuable experience for your next race.

Over the past two years I've really noticed that track work has improved my running economy and helped me move towards a more mid foot strike.  On my longer runs this has translated into quicker leg turnover and greater physiological efficiency.  In terms of the aerobic benefits intervals and track offer, work done at or slightly above your functional threshold heart rate pays dividends.  Track work and intervals allow improved running economy which translates into decreased oxygen extraction at sub maximal pace, increased maximal oxygen consumption at maximal pace, and improved lactate tolerance, which delays fatigue. 

So what do you need to know to hit the track?  I've personally found the research and insight provided by Greg McMillan to be a great resource.  Probably one of the best kept secrets on the internet for runners is the McMillan Run Calculator.  This tool, which is also available in an excel spreadsheet if you're a real run geek, is an exceptional predictor or run performance.  Input your best or most recent race result, and it provides some pretty decent numbers around what your performance should be for different race distances, as well as what you should be targeting for training and track paces.

As always, ask your coach for their thoughts on getting on the track, but if you're keen to get going, here are a couple other resources with some good track workouts;

McMillan Run Calculator
Runner's World - Get on Track Running Times - The Best 10k Workout
No Meat Athlete - Three Track Workouts Guaranteed to Kick your Ass
Running Planet- Marathon Interval Training

Now, who wants to hit the track for some lung busting 800's? 

Running Music

I've never really blogged about what I listen to when I'm running, but I'm often looking for good run songs so I figured I'd write a quick post on some awesome runs that I use to amp me up for a tempo run, or calm me down for a long slow run.

So here's what's on my "HTFU" playlist (thats actually what its called, and if you don't know what HTFU means, Google it).

• Bulletproof - La Roux (high tempo song that gets me started)
• Coming Home - Diddy (there's something triumphant about the opening song that I just love)
• Eye of the Tiger - Survivor (this is a staple)
• Gives You Hell - The All American Rejects (Need I say more?)
• I'm Shopping Up to Boston - Dropkick Murphys (This is a GREAT song for short fast intervals)
• Icky Thump - The White Stripes (Try having this song in your ear and not feel bad ass)
• Imma Be - Black Eyed Peas (Kind of a "what are you made of?" song for me)
• Stronger - Kanye West (Probably a cliche workout song by now, but still good)
• Rooftops -  Lostphophets (This song is all about giving it your all, used to be the Flames opener song)
• Rolling In the Deep - Adele (Its the opener to this song thats the most motivating, great song)
• Kings and Queens - 30 Seconds to Mars (Great song, really motivational)
• Not Afraid - Eminem (What would a HTFU soundtrack be without some Eminem?)
• Time - Hans Zimmer (This is one of the songs from Inception, and was at the end of the 2010 Kona broadcast when Macca was on his last couple miles on his way to the win, listen to this song at the most mentally challenging point of a workout and visualize the finish line at your big race in slow motion, so powerful)

 Now that you know what I use to push me up a hill or crush a tempo or interval run, here's my playlist that I use to slow myself down for a Sunday morning LSD run.

• Use Somebody - Kings of Leon (Such a chill song)
• Stop and Stare - One Republic (A cool song that you can visualize your whole season to)
• Airplanes - B.o.B feat. Hayley Williams (preparing for Ironman Canada I listened to this so many times wishing and hoping I'd finish the swim!)
• Dog Days are Over - Florence + The Machine (You can totally run on a Sunday morning and be perfectly content listening to thise)
• Edmonton - The Rural Alberta Advantage (I can't say enough awesome things about this band, just download their album Hometowns, its awesome and the whole album should be on this list)
• Unwritten - Natasha Beddingfield (Girlie music at its best)
• Lighters - Bad Meets Evil (A song about struggle and triumph, also with Eminem)
• I Love this Road - Emerson Drive (Showing some love for country music here, pick your fave run route and listen to this song)
• I Believe - Nikki Yanofsky (The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Theme! Listen to this, watch this montage, and just be inspired by our Canadian athletes)
• All These Things That I've Done - The Killers (See the video below, enough said)

Lastly there are two videos that I use to amp me up and get me ready for a run or a workout.  Just watch them.

And this next one gives me chills, you don't even need to watch it, just listen to it

Have a great run!