Learning to slow down a little

Working this weekend so the run had to go indoors , did a 10K on the treadmill in 48:29 . Working towards next weekends 25K trail race . According to a training calculator http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/trainingcalculator/0,7169,s6-238-277-279-0-0-0-0-0,00.html I am ran at what is know as a "tempo" pace based on a recent 10K in 44:51. Now according to what I have read .....
"Tempo runs help you improve your running economy and your running form. They are often described as "hard but controlled" runs, and they will help you prepare for races of 10,000 meters to the marathon. Tempo workouts generally fall into one of two categories: steady runs of 2 to 6 miles; or long intervals with short recoveries. Here's an example of the latter: 4 x 1 mile at tempo run pace with 2 minutes of recovery jogging between repeats. You should do tempo runs no more than once a week, and they should make up no more than 10 to 15 percent of your total training."
I should only do this once a week ..... OOPS . Guess I have been pushing it a little ! Actually I was pushing it allot , it wasn't long ago that every 10K i did was at a 4:25 pace somewhere between a tempo run and a maximum oxygen training pace . Now the o2 pace is described as ...
"Maximum oxygen','Maximum-oxygen workouts help you improve your running economy and your racing sharpness. These workouts are often called "interval workouts," and are most useful when you are preparing for a race of 5000 meters to half-marathon. Here's an example of a good maximum-oxygen workout: 6 x 800 meters at maximum-oxygen pace with 4 to 6 minutes of recovery jogging between repeats. You should do maximum-oxygen workouts no more than once a week, and they should make up no more than 6 to 10 percent of your total training. (When you run these workouts, you are running at or near 100 percent of your maximum oxygen capacity, which scientists call max O2; hence the name for these runs."
What I really should be doing is the Easy Run , better described as "Top coaches and exercise physiologists believe that most runners should do 80 to 90 percent of their weekly training at the easy run pace )this includes your long runs, done at approximately the same pace). Easy runs build your aerobic fitness, and your muscular and skeletal strength. They also help you burn more calories and recover for harder workouts. " ... again OOPS !

So bottom line , more easy runs for me ! That's the true joy of going the distance , it forces you to have an easy run . The 10K shootout is just to tempting to go like hell all the time because you can.

I will probably do an easy run tomorrow , 5;31 pace seems a wee bit slow . I think I would be doing good to do a 5:00 pace . Monday I will hit the road again , will do an easy 16K run ! When I do my long run I will try to stick to the following recomendatiosn ... " Long runs form the foundation of all marathon training programs. Long runs build everything from your confidence to your discipline to your fat-burning. So, even when you're not training for a specific marathon, it's a good idea to do at least one semi-long run a week. Because long runs are done at a relaxed pace, there's great latitude in how fast you actually run. In general, we believe that slower is better than faster. Let your long runs be your slow runs, and save your legs for other days of the week when you might do tempo runs or maximum-oxygen runs. But there are a thousand theories about how to do long runs, none of which have yet been proven superior to the others. The important thing is building up the distance and training your body to keep going for 3, 4, 5 or however many hours it's going to take you. "

Ron.

Ron.