OMP Fun

Tonight's run was a fun little number called an OMP (Ordinary Mortal Pace), or at least that's what the folks at Marathon Dynamics call it (my trainers). I did my scheduled 14km is 1h06m (about a 4:46/km pace), and I feel tired yet good all at the same time. However, I worry that one of my toe nails is going to get black and fall off, as it's been sore the past few days. The same one I lost at Chicago... I'll miss it! OK, enough of the sadness for body parts, and on to why we do this run.

Steady State Run (OMP)

An OMP is a steady state run that should be run a little slower than your lactic acid threshold. (Lactic acid is a metabolic byproduct of when your body creates energy - look it up if you want to know more). The goal of the OMP is to increase your lactic acid threshold with the intention of improving the pace you can keep over a distance. For a long distance runner, your OMP speed should be about 40 - 60 seconds per km slower than your 10km racing pace.

If you don't know your 10km race pace, here are a few other ways to determine if you are in that zone:

• it should feel "comfortably hard"
• your heart rate will be between 78%-85% of your max heart rate
  
• if you are running with someone, you can speak but it will be stilted and not comfortable

While I can't speak to distances any given person should do, I have had marathon schedules where the OMP run is anywhere from 9km to 18k, usually increasing later in the training season. Also, only do this run once a week.

Hope you learned something useful!

Please consult your doctor before starting any exercise program.