On Saturday, I did a 20 minute tempo run at 6:30 pace per mile. I had not intended to run it quite that fast, but it felt comfortably hard, which is the recommended pace according to “Daniels’ Running Formula,” the book I reference more than any other when it comes to planning workouts.
On Sunday, my legs felt tight and sore, but I decided to do my long run anyway.
I did the long run, but it was painfully slow.
As you can see, some of my miles were close to and over 10:00 per mile. But here’s the good news. That remarkably slow long run really helped me recover from the previous day’s tempo run. This morning after the previous day’s long slow run, I felt like my legs had a session in a hyperbarbic chamber; they experienced very little strain and all the oxygen they needed for over 90 minutes.
Many distance coaches and trainers argue that this is one of the primary roles of the long slow run. In addition to all the other cardiovascular, circulatory and endurance benefits, getting oxygen rich blood out to muscles in need of repair is crucial.
My plan this summer, in addition to regular mileage during the week, is to continue with a tempo run on Saturday followed by a long slow distance run on Sunday.
Also, I’m going to continue to plenty of Active Isolated Stretching. I have Jim Wharton’s “Stretch Book,” and I’d recommend it to anyone.