2.5 minute quarter-mile run, April 21, using quick paces style on outdoors track

For the first time since returning to long-distance running in November '08, I ran quarter-miles, taking approx 5 minute breaks between quarter-miles. For the first time in months I ran on the outdoors track at Leary Field, the 'J. Lee Gould' track.

I left the footwear as it was the previous run; last time I gave myself footwear advice was after the March 25 run (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/74-minute-5-mile-run-march-25-using.html ).

Results foot-comfort wise:

Left foot/leg: No complaints

Right foot/leg: No complaints

Foot-comfort result backs my theory that if I can devise footwear that is comfortable running on the sidewalk, what is comfortable on the sidewalk will be comfortable anywhere.

The track at Leary Field is a pebbly-rubber type track. It is not trampoline-like like the track at Gordon Track at Harvard University. The shoes I wore on the track contained lots of heavy padding, the padding was not lightened up to accomodate the Leary Field track being relatively gentle on the feet.

Tuesday April 21:

I ran or walked one lap, 440 yds, on the Leary Field track. I stopped for usually approx five minutes every quarter-mile. I used style A, short quick paces.

Time after 5th mile: 71:21 (12 1/4 mile runs and 8 1/4 mile walks): The breaks were the usual format: time at end of run or walk segment rounded up to next minute, plus five minutes, equals start of next segment.

For the first 5 miles, I used the following chant (chanted in my mind not with my mouth/tongue):

'Great is our speed as we streamline the sky
Many are our steps per unit of time

(NEW) Doing...just a quarter mile
in the short paced quick paced style

Lord of Roads of Magnificence am I
Lord of Roads of Painlessness am I'

The three stanzas were chanted in various orders.

For the styles involving torso straight, torso straight and lean forwards, and torso humpbacked, I used stanzas such as:

Doing...just a quarter mile
in the quick-paced humpbacked style

I stretched before starting the run; had coffee, cod liver oil, blueberry juice.

Split times recorded last five times out using style A/D, featuring emphasis on short quick paces: April 21 style A (4 quarter-mile times summed), March 31 style A (2 half-mile times), March 25 style A (miles), March 21 style A (miles), March 18 style D (miles):

1st, run: 2:27+3:22+4:01+3:16=13:06, 7:07+7:02=14:09, 15:23, 15:15, 15:05

2nd, walked:3:41+3:45+3:41+3:45=14:52, 6:37+6:30=13:07, 14:12, 14:50, 14:15

3rd,run: 3:58(ST)+3:56(FL)+3:52(HB)+3:55(HB)=15:41, 7:02+6:00=13:02, 15:23, 15:26, 15:47

4th, walked: 3:41+3:41+3:51+3:43=14:56, 6:39+6:36=13:15, 14:00, 14:05, 14:23

5th, run: 3:00(QS,ST)+3:15(FL,ST)+3:03(QS,HB)+4:01=13:19,5:52+6:48=12:40, 15:02, 15:12, 15:40

Acronyms: ST=the quarter-mile was run with the upper body held basically vertical; FL=the quarter-mile was run with the upper body basically straight leaning forward somewhat; HB=quarter-mile was run with the upper body in a sort of hunchbacked position, leaning slightly forward with the upper body curved; QS=quick-start, means first half of run was faster than second half.

It seemed today April 21 that my quarter-mile speed seems to be improved by: running fast at the beginning until I get exhausyed and slow down; running with the upper body in a slightly hunchbacked positiion.

The 2:27 run on the first half mile was a big achievement; the speed was 16% faster than my fastest half-mile March 31.

The world record quarter-mile speed is about 17% faster than the world record half-mile speed (http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/tfn/records/records.jsp?listId=1 ). The 20% speed improvement (compared to half-mile speed) the first time running the quarter-mile is respectable.

But for some reason, the walked speed in the 2nd mile, on the outdoor track at Leary Field, was 12% slower than the walked speed in the second and fourth miles March 31 when the mile was split into two half-miles on the round-the-block course.

This could mean: regression in walk speed due to three weeks without practice; slowdown in walk speed due to exhaustion from fast first quarter-mile; round the block course is shorter than outdoor track; car odometer used to measure round the block distance overestimates distance traveled because it is not accurate; car odometer measurement of round the block course was on road but round-the-block course on sidewalk is shorter.

The footwear today was the same as the previous run.

'Twas a day and evening run.

The black heavy sweatshirt, long-sleeved collar-less sportshirt made of t-shirt-type material, t-shirt, sleeveless t-shirt, visibility-vest, shorts, & headband were too warm after the first two quarter-miles.

After the first two quarter-miles, I removed the sweatshirt. I ran/walked quarter-miles 3 to 11 without the sweatshirt, wearing the visibility vest. This felt about right in the 51 degree, windless, cloudy, wet but not raining conditions (http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/wxStationGraphAll?day=1&year=2009&month=4&ID=KMAWESTO6&type=3&width=500&showsolarradiation=1&showtemp=1&showpressure=1&showwind=1&showwinddir=1&showrain=1 ).
The workout started at 12:22 PM; the eleventh quarter-mile was concluded at 1:56 PM. At this point I had to take a break due to the rain. Resumed workout, quarter-miles 12 through 16, 5:28 - 6:07 PM. Rain break. Quarter-miles 17-20, 6:39 - 7:09 PM. Total workout time: 2:43, not counting rain breaks.

Advice to myself for the next run fotwear-wise: Same as that listed in the March 25 post (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/74-minute-5-mile-run-march-25-using.html ); no need to do anything.

In accordance with the rotation entered into the blog-record March 15 (http://davidvirgil.blogspot.com/2009/03/76-minute-5-mile-long-length-paced-run.html ), run the next run, using style B/E, the long-paced style, pausing five minutes after each quarter-mile to rest/take-notes.

Experiment with the different ways of positioning the upper body while running; remember that with this kind of running at this time, starting out at a speed that is faster than one can maintain for the entire run and then slowing down seels to produce the fastest speed.

Walk the walked miles without breaks. The five minute breaks between segments are beginning to lengthen the workouts out to the point where they are very time consuming.

I estimate that if five minute breaks are taken after each 220 yd run, and the walked miles are walked without breaks, the workout will take 4 hours, which is still alot of time.

Running Tactics Slash Strategy

It became evident today during the last four quarter-miles run, that for me as of now, the tactic of starting out the first half of the quarter-mile fast and then slowing down for the second half of the quarter-mile, results in a speed that is 33% faster in terms of distance covered per unit of time, compared to pacing myself, trying to avoid ending at a speed slower than I start with.

On the 17th, 18th, and 19th quarter-miles, the last half of the quarter-mile took me about two minutes while the first half of the quarter-mile took me about one minute.

Looking at the 1st quarter-mile run in 2:27, for this quarter-mile, the estimate if the second half took me twice as long as the first half would be, 1:38 for the second half of the quarter mile, and 0:49 seconds for the first half of the quarter mile.

If I was running a six minute mile, the pace would be 45 seconds per each eighth of a mile.

Thus since 49 seconds is almost the same as 45 seconds, today I demonstrated that I can run an eigth of a a mile at the speed I need to run an entire mile at to run the mile in six minutes.

(tech note): Insert here audio of angels singing Hallelujah chorus, video of sun majestically and dramatically appearing from behind the clouds.

Therefore my strategy or tactic for now is, to run one eighth of a mile distances, or 220 yds, taking a break after each 220 yd run, with the goal being to consistently run 220 yds in 45 seconds.

When I get to the point where I can consistently run 220 yds in 45 seconds, I plan on moving on to running 440 yd segments trying to get to the point where I can run the 440 yd segment in 90 seconds. After this: trying to get to the point where I can run 880 yds in 3 minutes, running 880 yd segments separated by breaks. Then: trying to run miles in six minutes. Then: trying to run a mile in six followed by a mile walked followed by another mile in six. Then: Running a mile in six, walking a mile, running a second mile in six, walking a mile, and running a third mile in six all without a break.

This follows the theory that I postulated about 15 years ago, when I was shouted down because at that time most people disagreed with me.

The theory is that to be able to build up to a fast speed in the mile, one should practice running in the style which one will be running in when one is finally able to run the mile at fast speed; this means doing short distances at the speed one aims to finally be able to achieve when running the mile.

When I was shouted down because I was in the minority the spokesman for the majority opinion declared that to train for the mile one should run distances of a mile or longer non-stop without breaks to build aerobic capacity.

The thinking behind my maverick original opinion was: running is a muscular activity; running slowly in a slow style builds muscles in a certain way, running fast in a fast style builds muscles in a different way; running short segments in a fast style will build aerobic endurance and also at the same time build muscle appropriately; running long distances in a slow style will build aerobic endurance but will not build the muscles appropriately.

The military places a strong emphasis on the ability to run two miles at a high speed as a condition of entry into the military.

I noticed at the military website that the military now advocates that those training to develop speed in the two mile run should use the approach that I advocated a long time ago, running shorter distances with breaks in between at the speed one must run the two-miles at in order to qualify for the military.

Digression re proper GMAT style math

Where: SLT= the amount of time taken to run the distance at the slower speed, FST= the amount of time taken to run the distance at the faster speed:

((SLT minus FST) times 100) divided by FST = RESULT

And, the correct answer is that the speed at the faster speed was RESULT percent faster than the speed at the slower speed.

Note that strictly speaking, it would be incorrect to say that the statement in the above paragraph is true if RESULT is computed as being ((STL minus FST) times 100) divided by SLT.

Similarly, ((SLT minus FST) times 100) divided by SLT = SECONDRESULT

And, the correct statement is: the speed at the slower speed was SECONDRESULT slower than the speed at the faster speed.

Note that RESULT does not equal SECONDRESULT; in the first equation the divisor is FST, whereas in the second it is SLT.

Such wisdom gets me to the 93rd percentile on the Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT).

I heard on the internet that if I could get to the 99th percentile, I could get paid lots of money training students preparing to take the GMAT (I myself did not get any tutoring or training to prepare me for the GMAT before I took the GMAT).

Funny, practicing GMAT skills so as to be able to teach people how to get a high score on the GMAT never occurred to me as a profession, until I read about it on the internet.

Even now, sharpening up my GMAT skills so as to be able to get a score in the 99th percentile so as to be able to teach people how to get a high score, strikes me as a weird way to spend time.

Seems weird that society should highly reward time spent in such fashion, while treating time spent in better ways, as wasted time.

End Digression re proper GMAT style mathematics

@2009 David Virgil Hobbs