A program to run sub 40 min in 10K

[TheEd]

the calf muscle is your 'suspension' . it is more a case of keeping the calf muscles supple and loose between sessions

have you a foam roller you can use?

TheEd

[Palmer]

I have access to a foam roller in my fitness centre and I used it after my 8K easy run on the treadmill earlier today. I have also used a tennis ball at home. Plan to use these every other day.

Yesterday I ran 7K on the treadmill. All these 3 runs on the treadmill this week have been easy, 5:20-5:35 pace. I have iced the calf after the sessions and it has not got worse. In addition I have cycled to work and back home with high tempo in order to get the HR up, total time 40 minutes. I plan to keep running the easy sessions and doing the cycling up to the 10K race on August 22. Max 1 hour easy runs.

Arnie

[TheEd]

good stuff Arnie, sometimes the calf muscle is related to overuse and simply needs to be maintained (foam roller etc) so as to be able to train effectively

once the calf muscles adapt things should go smoother

TheEd

[Palmer]

Hi TheEd

Since the 5K race on August 6 I did only easy running sessions and cycel sessions due to my stiff calf. I didn't know how this would affect my running form for the 10K race today. I just wanted to try to run faster than in the my last 10K race in July where my time was 42:02. Today my time was 41:45 so I was able to run faster and my calf was ok after the race. I was really pleased with that :-). This performance showed that I was able to at least maintain my form even though I didn't have any quality sessions during this period.

Split; Time; Dist.; Av HR; Max HR
1; 4:02; 1K; 166; 178
2; 4:03; 1K; 177; 179
3; 4:09; 1K; 179; 180
4; 4:15; 1K; 179; 181
5; 4:09; 1K; 181; 183
6; 4:12; 1K; 179; 183
7; 4:07; 1K; 180; 184
8; 4:06; 1K; 179; 186
9; 4:08; 1K; 184; 188
10; 3:58; 1K; 178; 189
11; 0:36; 0,17; 161; 188

Tot: 41:45; 10,17K; 178; 189

My slowest laps had some uphills parts and I was happy with being able to finish strong.

My next race is 10K on September 12. It fits perfectly as the 19th day of a training cycle that would start on Tuesday, August 25.

On we go?

Best regards,
Arnie

[TheEd]

congrats on a decent run

make sure to look after the calf muscles

don't speed up any of your sessions, look to get some consistency with the overall program and you should move to the next level quite smoothly

looking good

TheEd

[Palmer]

Since my 10K race in August 22 I have had 5 easy sessions, one tempo session and yesterday I ran the 5*2K session on a track. I deceided to skip this session last weak and had a tempo run instead just to make sure not to harm the calf. I have not had any problem with the calf after the race so I don't think I have to worry about it anymore. I deceided to run the 2K session instead the 1K session which was scheduled according to the program.

The plan was to run the last two laps faster to build confidence according to your earlier advice.

Lap; Time; GPS Dist.; Avg. pace; Avg HR; Max HR; Rest HR
1; 8:21; 2,07; 4:02; 166; 174; 121
2; 8:23; 2,05; 4:06; 167; 174; 128
3; 8:20; 2,04; 4:06; 170; 177; 128
4; 8:14; 2,04; 4:03; 173; 182; 139
5; 8:11; 2,04; 4:01; 176; 186;

I was happy with being able to run the two laps faster wish I was not able to do when I ran the session last time on July 23th. My HR figures are also now considerably lower which is a good sign.

On September 12 is a 10K race which I will take part in. Do you recommend following the program until the race which means having the session of day 10 tomorrow (easy day of 1hr running) and finish the program with the 10K race on day 19?

Any thoughts appreciated.

Arnie

[TheEd]

yes Arnie, the 10k on the 19th should work out fine

with the calf muscle, the most problems will come from the long run, so break it down into 20 minute segments

every 20 minutes, stop to stretch the calf muscles

adapting to the running takes longer for the bones, muscles and tendons

cardiovascular adapts quicker

so be patient, as it is all working in the right direction

onwards and forwards

TheEd

[Palmer]

Dear TheED

I deceided to skip the race on September 12 since I got cold and fever a few days earlier. Next races are on September 22 (5K or 10K) and on September 27 (10K). I haven´t deceided if i will run 5K or 10K on the 22th. Running two 10K races with 5 days between, would that be ok for me in your opinion?

This evening I did the 6*1K session on a tartan track:

Splits; Time; Avg HR; Max HR/Rest HR
1; 3:59; 162; 175/122
2; 3:57; 170; 180/137
3; 3:57; 173; 182/143
4; 3:59; 175; 185/149
5; 3:58; 178; 186/151
6; 3:57; 179; 189

I was pleased with being able to keep each 1K under 4 minutes. Think I have not done that before in the 1K sessions.

Since I started the 3 weeks program in June I have been training just by myself. To get variety in my running sessions I would like to join my running group again three times a week and do the sessions deceided by the coach. In addition, I will do some easy sessions by myself. So I will not follow the 3 weeks cycle for some weeks. Just give it a rest. I also plan to run a half marathon on October 24. After that I would like to do a 4K time trial, start the 3 weeks program again and prepare for a 10K which takes place on November 21. I will let you know how these races will go and give you again feedback of my training after the half marathon and the 4K time trial.

Best regards,
Arnie

[TheEd]

Arnie, Day 3 to Day 8 is the most important, no matter what distance your fellow runners are doing, those sessions can benefit them

if possible, keep those sessions and then you can balance the rest by running what they do

those 3 sessions . 2k . long run and 1k session in that sequence makes the runner

get them to train with you on those days

see this article:

Thoughts Behind the Programs

http://www.time-to-run.com/theed/10k-tra...e-programs

then as for the two 10k races, that should be no problem as long as you recover properly for 3 days after the event and roll towards the event in the same way as the program

please ask questions for clarity

TheEd

[Palmer]

This is a good idea! I will keep the sessions for days 3-8 and train with my fellow runners for the rest of the 3 weeks cycle.

Thanks!
Arnie