Hi TheEd
Thought I'd check in and update. All seems to be going well and I feel I'm getting back into a running routine again. I've started back on the 10k program and up to day 8 today, although not been running every day - taking breaks when feeling a bit tired to aid recovery until my body is totally back up to speed.
Here's what I've been up to. All days not mentioned were rest days. It's a bit of a long post, so if you're short of time just fast forward to 23 and 26 May sessions which were the picks of the bunch.
9 May
Easy 7.06km in 36:19
5:08/km
Av. HR 144
11 May
Long-ish easy run 14.66km in 1:13:53
5:02/km
Av. HR 146
13 May
Felt like running faster again so hard-ish effort
5.23km in 22:41
4:20/km
Av. HR 161
15 May
Easy 11.49km in 58:13
5:04/km
Av. HR 146
17 May
Easy(ish) 12.77km in 1:01:51
4:51/km
Av. HR 148
19 May
NEW CYCLE DAY 1
12.40km in 1:00:01
4:50/km
Av HR 152
First run with new Garmin - got a bit carried away with feel-good factor and pace was "enthusiastic easy"
20 May
Missed today's run as feeling slightly tired and wanted to be rested for 2000s.
21 May
Set out for the 2k session with 5 intervals programmed, but left it open in my mind whether I'd do 4 or 5, given I had not done a 2k session since February and didn't want to overdo it. In the end, I was feeling quite tired in the 4th interval and it was warm and sunny, so decided to be cautious and finish after 4 intervals. Was 11 seconds per km quicker on average than my last 2k session at altitude - I was hoping to be quicker than that before the lockdown scuppered things, but given the circumstances I'm pretty happy with it as a first session back.
2km easy WU and CD.
Interval / time / pace / av HR / max HR / min HR after rest (90 secs walking)
1 / 8:34 / 4:17 / 162 / 169 / 127
2 / 8:26 / 4:13 / 167 / 173 / 131
3 / 8:35 / 4:17 / 169 / 174 / 134
4 / 8:36 / 4:18 / 169 / 176 / 127
Av pace during intervals: 4:16/km
Previous 2k session on 28 Feb for comparison (at altitude):
1km easy WU and CD.
Interval / time / pace / av HR / max HR / min HR after rest (90 secs walking)
1 / 8:43 / 4:20 / 157 / 163 / 122
2 / 8:55 / 4:25 / 161 / 168 / 134
3 / 8:55 / 4:26 / 166 / 171 / 140
4 / 9:04 / 4:31 / 168 / 172 / 143
5 / 9:11 / 4:34 / 170 / 177 / 139
Av pace during intervals: 4:27/km
23 May
Long run 23.33km in 1:59:59
5:09/km
Av. HR 142
This was supposed to be 1hr 30 only but I missed a couple of turnings and felt great, so carried on. Went through 1/2 mara in 1hr 48, not too bad for an easy run
24 May
Recovery 5.91km in 30:04
5:05/km
Av. HR 138
Legs a little heavy from the long run but generally felt good, HR stayed well in control.
25 May
Again decided to rest in this first cycle back, to be recovered for 1000s.
26 May
6x1km session. Given 2k session averaging 4:16/km, decided to start around 4:05/km and turn up the speed as I went if possible. Really pleased with the session, felt strong and was able to increase the pace for intervals 2, 3 and 4 then maintain that pace for 5 and 6. That altitude training is finally paying off I think - comparing to the previous session in Feb below, that is more like the difference I was hoping for between my altitude and sea level sessions. The HR is higher for this session so it looks like a harder effort, but on "feel" I would say the altitude session was harder.
2.5 km easy WU and CD
km / time / av HR / max HR / min HR after rest (60 seconds walking)
1 / 4:06 / 156 / 165 / 129
2 / 4:03 / 159 / 168 / 131
3 / 4:01 / 163 / 174 / 137
4 / 3:54 / 166 / 176 / 140
5 / 3:56 / 168 / 177 / 144
6 / 3:53 / 169 / 178 / 144
Av. pace of intervals 3:59/km
Previous 6x1km session from 12 Feb for comparison:
km / time / av HR / max HR / min HR after rest (60 seconds walking)
1 / 4:18 / 153 / 160 / 123
2 / 4:22 / 155 / 165 / 127
3 / 4:20 / 158 / 168 / 135
4 / 4:23 / 161 / 171 / 140
5 / 4:25 / 163 / 171 / 142
6 / 4:22 / 164 / 177 / 142
Av. pace of intervals 4:21/km
Looking forward to the easier part of the cycle now. Will probably try a hard-ish effort 5k on race day to see how close I can get to that 20 minute mark.
cheers
Thought I'd check in and update. All seems to be going well and I feel I'm getting back into a running routine again. I've started back on the 10k program and up to day 8 today, although not been running every day - taking breaks when feeling a bit tired to aid recovery until my body is totally back up to speed.
Here's what I've been up to. All days not mentioned were rest days. It's a bit of a long post, so if you're short of time just fast forward to 23 and 26 May sessions which were the picks of the bunch.
9 May
Easy 7.06km in 36:19
5:08/km
Av. HR 144
11 May
Long-ish easy run 14.66km in 1:13:53
5:02/km
Av. HR 146
13 May
Felt like running faster again so hard-ish effort
5.23km in 22:41
4:20/km
Av. HR 161
15 May
Easy 11.49km in 58:13
5:04/km
Av. HR 146
17 May
Easy(ish) 12.77km in 1:01:51
4:51/km
Av. HR 148
19 May
NEW CYCLE DAY 1
12.40km in 1:00:01
4:50/km
Av HR 152
First run with new Garmin - got a bit carried away with feel-good factor and pace was "enthusiastic easy"
20 May
Missed today's run as feeling slightly tired and wanted to be rested for 2000s.
21 May
Set out for the 2k session with 5 intervals programmed, but left it open in my mind whether I'd do 4 or 5, given I had not done a 2k session since February and didn't want to overdo it. In the end, I was feeling quite tired in the 4th interval and it was warm and sunny, so decided to be cautious and finish after 4 intervals. Was 11 seconds per km quicker on average than my last 2k session at altitude - I was hoping to be quicker than that before the lockdown scuppered things, but given the circumstances I'm pretty happy with it as a first session back.
2km easy WU and CD.
Interval / time / pace / av HR / max HR / min HR after rest (90 secs walking)
1 / 8:34 / 4:17 / 162 / 169 / 127
2 / 8:26 / 4:13 / 167 / 173 / 131
3 / 8:35 / 4:17 / 169 / 174 / 134
4 / 8:36 / 4:18 / 169 / 176 / 127
Av pace during intervals: 4:16/km
Previous 2k session on 28 Feb for comparison (at altitude):
1km easy WU and CD.
Interval / time / pace / av HR / max HR / min HR after rest (90 secs walking)
1 / 8:43 / 4:20 / 157 / 163 / 122
2 / 8:55 / 4:25 / 161 / 168 / 134
3 / 8:55 / 4:26 / 166 / 171 / 140
4 / 9:04 / 4:31 / 168 / 172 / 143
5 / 9:11 / 4:34 / 170 / 177 / 139
Av pace during intervals: 4:27/km
23 May
Long run 23.33km in 1:59:59
5:09/km
Av. HR 142
This was supposed to be 1hr 30 only but I missed a couple of turnings and felt great, so carried on. Went through 1/2 mara in 1hr 48, not too bad for an easy run
24 May
Recovery 5.91km in 30:04
5:05/km
Av. HR 138
Legs a little heavy from the long run but generally felt good, HR stayed well in control.
25 May
Again decided to rest in this first cycle back, to be recovered for 1000s.
26 May
6x1km session. Given 2k session averaging 4:16/km, decided to start around 4:05/km and turn up the speed as I went if possible. Really pleased with the session, felt strong and was able to increase the pace for intervals 2, 3 and 4 then maintain that pace for 5 and 6. That altitude training is finally paying off I think - comparing to the previous session in Feb below, that is more like the difference I was hoping for between my altitude and sea level sessions. The HR is higher for this session so it looks like a harder effort, but on "feel" I would say the altitude session was harder.
2.5 km easy WU and CD
km / time / av HR / max HR / min HR after rest (60 seconds walking)
1 / 4:06 / 156 / 165 / 129
2 / 4:03 / 159 / 168 / 131
3 / 4:01 / 163 / 174 / 137
4 / 3:54 / 166 / 176 / 140
5 / 3:56 / 168 / 177 / 144
6 / 3:53 / 169 / 178 / 144
Av. pace of intervals 3:59/km
Previous 6x1km session from 12 Feb for comparison:
km / time / av HR / max HR / min HR after rest (60 seconds walking)
1 / 4:18 / 153 / 160 / 123
2 / 4:22 / 155 / 165 / 127
3 / 4:20 / 158 / 168 / 135
4 / 4:23 / 161 / 171 / 140
5 / 4:25 / 163 / 171 / 142
6 / 4:22 / 164 / 177 / 142
Av. pace of intervals 4:21/km
Looking forward to the easier part of the cycle now. Will probably try a hard-ish effort 5k on race day to see how close I can get to that 20 minute mark.
cheers