10K Advice - sub 40 mins

[Matt F]

Sunday was race day and as there were we no races in the area I re-ran an earlier flat route.

Got around in 41.53, but think I'm not far off 41 shape. Ran the out 5K in around 41 pace (taking into acount the inclines) but couldn't maintain it for the return.

I was amazed how much more difficult it was mentally to push myself when it wasn't a proper race. My HR peaked at about 175 and no matter how much I dug deep I couldn't motivate myself to push harder. I think I physically could have gone into the 180s and got around in 41.

Today and tomorrow are recovery and Wednesday is Day 1, and I plan to stick to the programme religiously to prepare for my race on 8th November so that I am in peak shape.

Matt

[TheEd]

good stuff Matt

very definitely, the hype and excitement of the competition around you is worth a great deal when racing

make Day1 tomorrow .. a simple 1hr easy and relaxed unless fatigue then cut back to 30 to 40 minutes

then Thursday is the 2000m session

yes yes

What say you?

TheEd

[Matt F]

Hi Ed

The race I am working towards is a Sunday so Day 1 was Wednesday. The following is a log of my running last week:

Mon - Recovery - 45 Mins @ 130bpm - 5.2 Miles

Tues - Recovery - 30 Mins @ 135 bpm - 3.6 Miles

Wed - Day 1 - 60 Mins @ 130 bpm - 6.8 Miles

Thur - Day 2 - unable to run due to work commitments

Fri - Day 3 - 5 x 2K Circuits

Nr - Time/K - Av Hr- Max Hr/Hr after 60s/ Hr recovery

1 - 4:00 - 150
2 - 4:00 [8:00] - 165 - 164/110/54
R90
3 - 3:59 - 159
4 - 3:58 - 173 - 173/130/43
R90
5 - 4:00 - 163
6 - 4:00 - 174 - 175/132/43
R90
7 - 4:00 - 166
8 - 4:02 - 176 - 177/130/47
R90
9 - 4:01 - 170
10 - 3:58 - 181 - 185/143/42

This was a very hard session - as noted previously there is an incline on the 1K circuit which adds on a few secs.

Today - Day 4 - Rest

Sun - Day 5 - Long Run - 10 Miles (9 Miles @8.30 min mile pace; 1 Mile at ½ marathon race pace).

Matt

[TheEd]

Hi Matt .. in future work off Day1 as the Tuesday and then we change the last few days before the race

this way the long run falls on the Sunday and 1 day recovery before Tuesday quality

all is fine now

as for the 2000's

this session is what brings the results

remember how you feel during these sessions and when it comes to the last 2k of a 10k race make sure to find the same effort

onwards and forwards

TheEd

[Matt F]

Day 5 - Long Run

8 Miles at 8.30 min / mile then 1 Mile at ½ marathon race pace (to try to add a bit more stamina - let me know if this isn't a good idea?)

Day 6 - Easy 30 Mins

135 Bpm - 3.6 Miles

Day 7 - Easy 10K

130 Bpm - 55 Mins

Day 8 - 6 x 1000 Circuits - Target 3:48 / K

Nr - Time/K - Av Hr- Hr at end/Hr after 60s/ Hr recovery

1 - 3:51 - 158 - 170/110/60
R60
2 - 3:46 - 162 - 174/115/59
R60
3 - 3:49 - 165 - 171/113/58
R60
4 - 3:48 - 166 - 177/123/54
R60
5 - 3:46 - 171 - 178/128/50
R60
6 - 3:52 - 173 - 179/127/52

This session actually felt just as hard as the 2000s. Looks like I am in better 10K shape than 5K! The race is in 10 days time - feel like I'm getting close to where I need to be.

Matt

[TheEd]

no .. if it felt tough on the 1000's day you can put it down to a bad day

do note you still did a good session, your recovery rate dropped quite low, so it could have been an indifferent day

Don't focus too much on the long run pace for now once your interval sessions become easier your long runs will be further at the same heart rate, meaning your pace is quicker covering more distance at the same previous effort

let the progression be normal without forcing it

Are you doing a paced run over the weekend?

Cheers

TheEd

[Matt F]

Hi Ed

Yes, 5K paced run over the weekend. I'm aiming for 20:00 (the route includes a big hill, so that would be a good time). My previous best is 20:20.

Not sure what you meant by 'recovery rate dropped quite low'? My HR recovery tends to be 40 - 50 bpm after 60 secs (is this low?) - this was actually a good session for me in terms of HR, it just hurt!

Thanks for replying so quickly.

Matt

[TheEd]

your pulse rate during the 60 second recovery is important

if that drops rapidly it is a good sign and from your feedback this is hovering between 110 and 128 during your recovery?

enjoy your weekend

TheEd

[Matt F]

Had a really bad 5K tempo session the other day, really suffered up the big hill in the middle and my heart rate got into the 180s. I felt really weird with numb arms so I stopped (after about 3½K) - in hindsight this was due to the cold weather which has just kicked in, but it freaked me out at the time.

Easy runs since have been really good, running further at the same HR; and the 400s last night were comfortable at 85sec with good recoveries.

The big race is on Sunday. I think that physically I am capable of a sub 40min time, it's whether I can cope with the pain.

Matt

[TheEd]

focus on the mind set needed to do the 2k session during the last 2k of the race and you should be fine

feed yourself with positivity

Onwards and forwards

TheEd