Kim Conley

To improve your pace at running, vary your training and include specific quality sessions that target different training systems such as VO2max and lactate threshold. Additionally, avoid the mistake of trying to run faster on easy runs every day - instead incorporate rest into your training by alternating quality and easy days, allowing your body to make adaptations and be ready for the next quality session.
 
Transcript: "To improve your pace at running, you really want to vary your training and do some specific quality sessions that are going to tap into different training systems. VO2 max, lactate threshold are probably the two most important for raising the ceiling on your fitness, which is going to allow your pace to get better, improve. A common mistake I see is that people trying to get faster at running simply just try to run faster every single day on what should be easy runs. But really, the way training works is you want there to be stress and then you want to rest, and that is what allows your body to make adaptations. So you periodize the training throughout a week where you have some specific quality sessions that are geared toward targeting those other systems. And then you have easier days where you're not trying to run as fast as you can, and you're actually really slowing down the pace to a conversational pace. And then allowing yourself to adapt and rest and be ready for the next quality session where again you're going to start to run faster than you have before."

I would relive the last 110 meters of the 2014 US track and field championships. It was a battle against Jordan and I managed to find an extra burst of energy in the last turn, which allowed me to pass her and win my first US title with everyone in the stands cheering for me.
 
Transcript: "If I could relive one moment from my career, I think it would be the last 110 meters of the women's 10,000 at the 2014 US Track and Field Championships. It took place in Sacramento that year and I spent 10 years of my career living in Sacramento and doing all my training there. I'd gone to college just 20 minutes away from there. It's pretty close to where I grew up as well, so I had tons of friends and families in the stand that night. It definitely felt like I had a home field advantage. The race was a total battle from the last 3K on. I was at the lead just trying to push away and away from Jordan Hesse. She was just right on my heels the entire time. I couldn't break her. Then with 200 meters to go, she went around me and put a little gap, but I managed to bridge it. I just kept telling myself in that moment, no gaps, no gaps, no gaps. I was trying to hang on to her desperately. As we came off that final turn, I could tell that she wasn't going to get away again. I found this other burst of energy inside of me. She swung wide, I think to try to prevent me from passing, but she inadvertently opened up lane one in the process. I saw my opportunity and I just pushed forward with everything I had in me and managed to pull away in the last steps and win my first US title with everyone there supporting me in the stands. I could just hear the crowd erupting. It was just a really exciting and special moment in my career."

No, you don't want to start out too fast in a 5K. You should begin at a pace that feels comfortable and controlled, and then increase the intensity as you progress through the race. In the last mile or half-mile, you can really push yourself to give your best effort.
 
Transcript: "Should you start out fast in the 5k? Part of this depends on where you're coming from and what the level of your training has been leading into the 5k, but I think the short answer is no, you don't want to start out too fast in the 5k. You really want to start out exactly at the pace that you're prepared to run for the 5k or maybe a little bit slower than that and then progress through the race to get to the pace that you're prepared to run for the 5k. And if you don't know what that is then you want it to be at an effort where you don't want to feel like your breathing is all up here and that you're getting into the first half mile of the race and that you're just your breathing is out of control. You are going to be breathing hard but you want it to feel kind of within your control and then the other measure to think of is in the last mile to the last half mile that's when you really want to push in and tip the balance to a place where your breathing really is labored. And so up until that point you want to feel like you're holding something back and that you're in control and that when you get to that last stage of the race you still have somewhere to go."

Marathon training can be individualized based on the person's needs, goals, strengths, and weaknesses. It is important to consider the lifestyle and unique demands of the individual when designing a training program.
 
Transcript: "Individualizing marathon training really comes down to the person and what their needs are, what their goals are, what their strengths and weaknesses are. So you could have someone that has played soccer or lacrosse historically in their high school and collegiate background and just have a lot of natural speed. And that would be an athlete that you would want to tap into that strength and continue to develop their full profile as a runner as they move up to the marathon compared to an individual who is looking to complete the marathon and maybe hates speed work. So then you would be designing training for them that would help them raise the ceiling on their ability but focus a little more on those longer, steadier runs, especially if that's what they enjoy. If it's somebody that is trying to run a Boston qualifying time, then you're going to have very specific workouts at specific paces for them to try to hit that goal compared to someone that just wants to cover the distance. And then another factor is going to be the lifestyle and unique demands of an individual outside of running. So that might mean when do they do their long run in the week. You know, if it can be on Saturday or if it can be on Sunday or if a weekday is better because they're running around with kids sporting events all weekend. So that's really what it comes down to in individualizing a marathon training is making all the components, getting the most you can out of the training but fitting it to the individual."

In 2012 I took a risk by quitting my job as an assistant coach to focus on training for the Olympic Trials. It paid off, as I made the team by 0.04 seconds.
 
Transcript: "Have you ever taken a risk where it really paid off? In 2012, January of 2012, six months out from the Olympic trials, I was working as an assistant coach at UC Davis for the cross country and track teams. And I just knew deep down in my heart, and I was also training for the Olympic trials in June. And I knew deep down that I wasn't able to give either pursuit 100% of myself. And so I decided to step back from coaching and let the volunteer assistant coach step into the paid assistant coach role that I was in and completely step back from my duties as an assistant coach. And I wasn't sponsored. So, you know, giving up the, even though it was a small source of income, giving up even that was a huge risk, and it was scary. But I just needed to give myself that shot, give myself six months to truly live and train like a professional runner because that's the way all my competition at the Olympic trials were behaving. So I wanted to give myself that opportunity. And I ended up taking third at the Olympic trials and sneaking under the Olympic standard and making the Olympic team by point zero four seconds. So it was a big risk in January, but it paid off in that fraction of a second in June."

I started to specialize in running when I was 14/15 years old.
 
Transcript: "What age did you start to specialize in your sport? I joined a track team when I was 11, but was also playing soccer and basketball. And I continued doing all those sports through junior high and it wasn't until my freshman year of high school when I had a coach that felt like I had the potential to go on to run in college that I decided to specialize in running and try to be the best I could be in just running."