10k training and racing

[suzanne]

i am a 49yr old female running for approx 9 years - Started running in 10k races from the start. my time has come down from over the hour to 57 mins for the 10k races and has moved down from 2.30 hrs to 2.14 for a half marathon. But for the past 2-3 years i am stuck at those times. i joined a club 4-5 yrs ago and we do speed work once a week - sunday i do a long run 8-10 miles slow, mon i rest or do an hour in the gym (cardio) tues speed work - wed rest - thurs a moderate 4-5 miles - frid rest or do an hr in gym(cardio) i see runners who ran at my pace and now they are finishing in anything from 49mins-54mins i am always bringing up the rear.!!!
what am i doing wrong or as my son told me he thinks i am running in a comfort zone but my legs wont go any faster.
even in our club training i am in the last group even when new people arrive.

[TheEd]

Hi suzanne and welcome

there is one thing that I always appreciate in people and that is the desire to do better .. it not the destination such much but the journey

and now with those philosophical gumballs pushed to the side lets get down to a few things

Sunday i do a long run 8-10 miles slow - Good you getting the over 1hour run in

Mon - what do u determine as cardio, please? What does it consist of?

Tues - what are these sessions made up of

Wed - rest

Thur - 5 miles moderate .. what pace is this, please?

Fri - rest ... standard

what happens Sat?

we will start with this and then work a little further

Till later

TheEd

[suzanne]

hi ed
ok - sun can be on legs up to 1hr 45mins if i get up to 11 miles but always up to 1.32mins
monday - cardio - 15minsx2 on bike level 4- 2 different bikes
15minsx2 on cross trainer- level 4
10x2 on rowing machine
then some light weights for upper body 3 times each
5 different machines very light.
tue - speed work at club - 400m x 8 flat
on hills up 800 as fast and then 1min rec
on hills up 400 as fast and then 1 min rec
on hill 200 up as fast as we can- 200 flat to
recover- 200 downhill fast - 200 rec flat 8 times.
wed - rest
thurs - 5 miles at about 10min miler although hilly all around me is hilly
friday -sometimes gym same as above (sometimes nothing)
sat - nothing - unless a race

i dont drink alot of fluid maybe about 1litre a day of diluted orange hate water
and never take sport drinks - eat loads of veg, rice, pasta but drink some wine midweek and at the weekends.

hope this helps u get a picture - really appreciate it

going to wilmslow to do half marathon on sun 30th march 2008 - last years time was 2.18

[TheEd]

Do you have any track nearby to you, please?

then I do believe that maybe Monday should be a lighter recovery as if you don't do the so-called spinning correctly you will work the leg muscles

in order to spin you need to be at very low gear with high revolutions, in order to achieve this it takes a fair amount of experience .. this was often a mistake triathletes made when I worked with them.

this alone can lead to overload and a staleness which can affect performance

Sunday - Tuesday are important sessions .. give decent recovery .. on Monday

Look to do the cardio work on Fri or Sat

if you want to keep cardio on Tuesday you need to get someone to see that you are doing it correctly

Please let me know your thoughts?

TheEd

[suzanne]

hi ed

sori i mislaid u i mean on monday i do gym work on the bikes not spinning just on the bikes in the gym. in r gym there are 2 different types of bikes and i just peddle for 15 mins on each at level 4 (diff no spinning.)

[suzanne]

hi ed

no i dont have a track nearby - why is this important.?

[TheEd]

the track would have been handy to do the 4k test

how has your training been going?

it sounds as though you may have plateaued out with your running which has caused you to go stale

your speed sessions do not look as though they are complimentary you

go through the 10k programs and see that the sessions done are mainly 1k and 2k ... and never flat out but more pace judgement

do u have a club coach setting the club training routine?

lets see what we can do

TheEd