How to run by feel

Remember how it felt in the days when you just started running? Of course, there was pain and soreness, but also the sense of accomplishment, freedom, oneness with the nature and surrounding. Running was great and simple — all you needed was a pair of running shoes and loose clothing. It also seemed easier — when you felt good, you ran fast, when not, you slowed down. When it was windy, or snowy and icy, you ran slowly, enjoying even those parts of nature. How the things have changed.

Nowadays, the shoes alone are not enough. So much more was added to complicate runner’s life: from special outfits of moisture-wicking materials, to timing devices with GPS and heart rate monitors, and even recovery devices like special rollers, foam tubes and massaging gadgets. Not to mention training plans based on heart rate zones, lactate threshold, VO2 max, etc. One needs a degree in science to be able to understand and follow all that.

As the technology progresses, so do the gadgets, apps and software to help us plan and execute our training. I admit, I too am guilty of using various doohickeys. Among many other things, I used a training app on my iPhone for interval training. Its virtual coach spoke into my headphones when an interval should start and stop, and kept me in my targeted pace by nudging me to go faster when I fell under the pace, or slowing me down on those few occasions when my legs were fresh enough to go too fast.

The virtual coach was merciless — it didn’t care about the wind, temperature or terrain; it pushed me to keep the same pace up the hill, as on the flat stretch, the same pace at 30 C as it did when it was -10 C. And, that’s where the problem rests.

Most runners are guilty of the same thing — we tend to follow our training plans too strictly, and we rely on devices too much. We keep in our training zones based on heart rate monitors, ignoring such important factors as weather, elevation and, most important of all, the way we feel during the training.

Let’s go back the full circle to those days of innocence, when we paid attention to the world around us, and to our own bodies. We all started running for various reasons, involving health and well-being, physical and mental. The tech component came later to keep the motivation high, to keep us on the course. We embraced it to the point that it took over the main reason we run — to feel better. And, there’s no better way to achieve it, but to listen to what our body is telling us during the training. Running coach Jeff Gaudette reminds us how to run the various zone workouts by feel. Here are the highlights from his article:

Long, slow, distance run

This is the run usually done on the weekend, lasting an hour or more, at a pace which could be up to 40 seconds slower than intended marathon pace. This type of run will help you develop aerobic energy systems. In laymans terms — it builds your stamina.

So, how should you know you’re running fast enough, or slow enough during the long, slow, distance run, without the watch? You listen to your body — it should feel comfortably hard, to borrow the expression used by running coaches. You should be able to maintain the speed for a long time — an hour or more — and although it’s not supposed to feel easy, it’s not supposed to feel hard either. Breathing should be measured:  3 steps inhale, 3 steps exhale. By performing the talk test, you should be able to say three to four short sentences.

Tempo run

It’s also known as the lactate threshold level run, but let’s keep it simple — if you want to run your race faster, these types of runs will train your body to clear lactates from the system faster. That means you will be able to maintain the speed for longer period of time.

Do this run in pace of your 10-mile race, or a half-marathon. Maintain the pace for 30 to 45 minutes. Your breathing should be faster than during the LSD run described above: 2 steps in, 2 steps out. In talk test, you should be able to speak two short sentences, but forget longer conversation.

Speed work

We all know how that feels – intense and hard. It is an interval work, with sprint intervals at near-maximum effort. The breathing will be short. It may still be the same 2 steps in and 2 steps out, because your cadence will increase so much that the breathing corresponding to the frequency of your steps will be sufficiently short. As for the talk test — you should be able to blurt out a few words at the beginning of the interval, and if you’re doing it right, you won’t be able to speak by the end of it.

Now that you’re reminded of what it feels like to train in various levels of effort, the next challenge is to leave the gadgets at home. Or, bring them if you must, but mute them so you can tune into what’s your body telling you. You may find that you can enjoy runs even in the extreme summer heat, once you learn that you don’t have to listen to the “virtual trainer”.