Improving 10k time at altitude

[MarkCo]

I will do my best   

I now have my trip back to the UK arranged and will be there for almost the whole of August. There are so many races to choose from! I am going to have to stop myself from getting carried away and entering too many. I was thinking during that period that two 10k races plus a 5k park run might be doable, with the 10k's spaced at least 2 weeks apart? Does that sound about the limit or could I squeeze in another one?!!! 

2000s tomorrow - will report back after.

cheers

[shadydaz]

Hi Mark - I live between Cambridge and London so if you are anywhere near and want to meet up at an event during August we can try and arrange it!
Daz.

[MarkCo]

Hi Mark - I live between Cambridge and London so if you are anywhere near and want to meet up at an event during August we can try and arrange it!
Daz.

Hi Daz

Sounds good. I will be in the West Country for most of the time but will be in London at some point to visit friends, so will see if I can squeeze in an event then. Will let you know via PM if I manage it. I have been following your progress on your thread and looks like we're at around the same level. Many congrats on your 10k race the other day - that last km was especially impressive!! 

cheers
Mark

---

Day 2
5.91km in 31:58 (5:24/km)
Av HR 139
Felt a bit sluggish at times.

Day 3
Felt a bit more lively this morning for the 2000s. Headed to the decent park again, so a 2km walk plus 2km jog warm up there, and same for cooldown on the way back. Does make the session a bit time-consuming but it is worth it to be able to fully focus on running rather than traffic, dodgy pavements etc! My aim was to set out at 4:40/km pace and try to increase the pace to 4:35/km at some point depending on how I felt. The first interval felt relatively comfortable but it did get progressively tougher and I found the 4th interval pretty uncomfortable, however had just enough left for a faster last few hundred metres and I'm very pleased with the results. A good improvement on average pace over last cycle and, although also a harder effort, it is a decent confidence boost that a sub 45 min 10k might be possible when not at altitude! Rests were 90 seconds walking, same as last cycle.

Interval / time / av HR / max HR / min HR after rest
1 / 9:23 / 158 / 166 / 128
2 / 9:06 / 164 / 170 / 136
3 / 9:12 / 165 / 171 / 139
4 / 9:03 / 168 / 180 / 139
Av pace during intervals: 4:35/km

Last cycle below for comparison:

Interval / time / av HR / max HR / min HR after rest
1 / 9:36 / 154 / 160 / 114
2 / 9:33 / 158 / 170 / 124 (I think the max HR was incorrect on this interval - should be 167).
3 / 9:19 / 162 / 170 / 129
4 / 9:39 / 165 / 173 / 130
Av pace during intervals: 4:45/km

Rest tomorrow and will report back after long run on Sunday. cheers.

[TheEd]

Hi markco .. you would be able to run as many races as you would like to over the period you are there, we would just need to balance things over that period

you building up nicely judging by the current 2k session

onwards and forwards

TheEd

[MarkCo]

Hi TheEd

Good news, thanks. I'll try to get some booked up ASAP, will let you know when I do so we can plan the sessions. In the meantime, I'll just continue with this cycle.

Definitely noticed the progression in my long run today, the pace was naturally quite a bit faster (30 secs per km) for what felt like similar or less effort, and slightly lower average heart rate. Beautiful sunny day here and felt I could have continued easily to half marathon distance, but I have to admit I prefer the long run being 15 mins shorter as per the sub 45 min programme!!! 

17.01km in 1:31:08
5:21/km
Av HR 144

Last cycle for comparison:


18.04km in 1:45:58
5:52/km
Av HR 146


cheers

[TheEd]

markco, yes indeed

on we go towards the race period

TheEd

[MarkCo]

Day 6
Waking HR 54
5.65km in 30:19
5:22/km
Av HR 142

Day 7
Waking HR 52
5.81km in 30:40
5:16/km
Av HR 136

Day 8
Waking HR 52
6x1km session... Aim was to start off at 4:25/km and increase to 4:20/km if possible. I have been reading a bit more about training at altitude and quite a few sources recommend increasing the rest interval time over what you'd normally do at sea level. I thought especially as I was aiming to go faster on this session I would experiment a little and so the intervals were 75 seconds instead of my usual 60. The session started off well but the faster pace did result in me getting breathless towards the end of the 3rd interval and then at increasingly earlier points from then on, so I was glad for the slightly longer rests! The pace wasn't as consistent as other recent sessions, but I'm still pleased overall with the quicker intervals and the intended confidence boost I feel has worked.

km / time / av HR / max HR / min HR after rest
1 / 4:22 / 153 / 162 / 119
2 / 4:28 / 156 / 165 / 121
3 / 4:14 / 159 / 169 / 129
4 / 4:27 / 162 / 173 / 134
5 / 4:29 / 162 / 171 / 137
6 / 4:20 / 164 / 177 / 132
Av. pace of intervals 4:23/km


Last cycle 6x1km:
km / time / av HR / max HR / min HR after rest
1 / 4:33 / 153 / 160 / 119
2 / 4:30 / 157 / 167 / 124
3 / 4:25 / 159 / 170 / 135
4 / 4:29 / 163 / 169 / 136
5 / 4:25 / 162 / 171 / 139
6 / 4:32 / 166 / 179 / 142
Av. pace of intervals 4:29/km

As the heart rate data looks very similar (maybe even slightly better) than last cycle, I might stick with the slightly longer rests for now as I do think it helps slightly maintain a quicker pace. That said, the 2000s improved by a decent amount this cycle too with the same (90 sec) rests as last cycle!

Cheers

[TheEd]

Hi markco, as long as you achieve building the confidence, if you want to keep things within heart rate training standards, your pulse should not drop below 120 bpm during the Rest, if it does, it could be that you are resting too long or not running hard enough. This is only if you looking towards being 'finicky'

on we go

TheEd

[MarkCo]

Hi TheEd

OK, sounds reasonable and will bear that in mind for future sessions  

Here's the past few days...

Day 9
Felt quite tired after the 1000s so decided to have a rest day.

Day 10
Waking HR 50
Felt OK so went for the 1 hour easy run, however HR went up to 150 and even when I slowed down it was very reluctant to come down. Felt sluggish to start off (I sometimes do but it usually wears off quickly as I warm up) but things didn't improve and it was a lot of effort keeping going - just did not feel right! Decided to cut the run a bit short and walked home.
8.88km in 50:00 (5:38/km).
Av HR 146

Day 11
Waking HR 54
The reason for yesterday's poor run became clear as feeling under the weather today and have a cold. Scheduled rest day anyway.

Day 12
Feeling a bit better but not back to normal so another rest day.

Day 12 take 2
Feeling pretty much normal today, so decided to just shift day 12 as I like the 5k pace run! Felt fine after 2k warm up and stretch so decided to proceed with caution and set out at a slower pace and pick it up in the second half if feeling good. Was able to do this and put in a faster last km as well which resulted overall in a slightly faster time than last cycle, albeit frustratingly just over 23 mins rather than under! Pleased that I was able to go a bit faster without pushing too hard.

km / pace / Av HR
1 / 4:45 / 150
2 / 4:43 / 158
3 / 4:31 / 159
4 / 4:34 / 162
5 / 4:20 / 166
Total time: 23:02 (4:36/km)


Previous cycle:
km / pace / Av HR
1 / 4:40 / 150
2 / 4:37 / 159
3 / 4:38 / 165
4 / 4:38 / 168
5 / 4:34 / 171
Total time: 23:16 (4:38/km)

Still haven't got any races booked but will be focussing on that in the next few days!!

cheers

[TheEd]

Hi markco, hopefully you have not had any further setbacks

make sure to hydrate more now than what was normal previously

good luck

TheEd