Variety is the spice of everything

Not only is variety the spice of life, but it’s also the spice of running.  I’ll be honest – I have a love/hate relationship with variety. Some days, I just want to lace up my shoes and hit the streets with a relaxed body and brain.  Other days, I savor the variety of different runs almost as much as a good beer.

Whether you’re enrolled in a Fleet Feet training program or not, we as a store want to emphasize the importance of variations in your weekly runs.  This is especially important if you are training for a race or hoping to set a PR.

You’ve probably heard of speed workouts.  We even offer a free speed workout at the TU track each Tuesday.  These workouts are run at a

moderate to high pace to significantly raise your heart rate.  Not only do speed intervals increase your overall fitness, but they teach your body what it feels like to run faster.

We also preach the importance of hill workouts and tempo runs.  The world is not flat.  Your races will have hills, so we train on hills.  Hill workouts, as well as tempo runs that are run faster than normal pace, work different muscle groups and develop your anaerobic threshold.

Finally, your long, slow run each week helps to build endurance, even if you aren’t training for a specific event.  Run at a slightly slower pace than normal, and a little further than your weekly runs. You might be ready for that next race before you know it!

It’s important to remember to cross-train, as well.  Workouts such as weight training (which will be the topic of a future blog), cycling, swimming and yoga allow you to rest your legs while still exercising.

For those of you in our programs, this might be a bit repetitive.  Truthfully, I don’t care!  Variations are that important.  We are here to help you get healthy and to start or improve your walking/running.  I promise that changing up your running routing will help you get stronger, get faster and get better.  Happy varying!

-          Tim Dreiling

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