Improving 10k time at altitude

[MarkCo]

Thanks TheEd.

My Garmin is telling me my estimated VO2 max has skipped up from 58 to 60 now, which is the highest I've ever seen it. Only an estimate of course but it does concur with the jump you mentioned so I'm inclined to believe it ?

Looking forward to the easy week and I'll probably do a 4 or 5k effort on race day to see where I'm at.

Cheers

[TheEd]

nice markco .. all good and onwards TheEd

[MarkCo]

13 Jan
11.03 km in 54:45
4:58/km
AV HR 143

15 Jan
5k pace run
3k WU and 3k CD @ 4:50-5:05/km

km / pace / Av HR
1 / 4:09 / 153
2 / 4:08 / 167
3 / 4:07 / 168
4 / 4:05 / 171
5 / 4:00 / 171
Total time: 20:33 (4:06/km)

Previous 5k pace from 19 Dec:

km / pace / Av HR
1 / 4:18 / 148
2 / 4:17 / 165
3 / 4:09 / 166
4 / 4:11 / 171
5 / 3:59 / 170
Total time: 20:54 (4:11/km)

17 Jan
12.34km in 1:00:01
4:52/km
AV HR 145

19 Jan
3 X 5 mins fartlek
3k WU and 3k CD @ 5:00/km

Interval / time / distance / pace / Av HR / Max HR
1 / 5:00 / 1.21km / 4:08 / 160 / 166
2 / 5:00 / 1.21km / 4:08 / 166 / 173
3 / 5:00 / 1:24km / 4:02 / 168 / 172

Previous 3x5 mins session from 24 Dec:

Interval / time / distance / pace / Av HR / Max HR
1 / 5:00 / 1.11km / 4:27 / 160 / 164
2 / 5:00 / 1.16km / 4:15 / 164 / 168
3 / 5:00 / 1:22km / 4:01 / 167 / 172

20 Jan
7.73km in 38:13
4:57/km
AV HR 141

22 Jan
Race day. Was initially planning another 5k but decided I wanted to run a bit further so decided to aim for 8k but at a more comfortable starting pace and the option to continue on to 10k if all felt good. Started off just under 4:30 pace as planned which felt really comfortable so squeezed it up to 4:15-4:20 pace which still felt good. The km splits alternate as it was a 2km loop with an uphill on one side and downhill on the other and I kept the effort constant rather than exact pace. Still felt fine at 8km and as I was almost exactly on the pace of my current PB I had to continue as I knew I could up the pace slightly for a new PB. Only the last km was hard effort really and I'd put the whole run at about 8.5/10, so pleasing that I knocked 15 seconds off my PB set in 2019 without max race effort. Here's the splits:

2km WU and 2km CD @ 5:15/km

Km / time /AV HR
1 / 4:26 / 149
2 / 4:26 / 162
3 / 4:15 / 163
4 / 4:21 / 167
5 / 4:13 / 166
6 / 4:21 / 170
7 / 4:14 / 169
8 / 4:20 / 169
9 / 4:13 / 169
10 / 4:05 / 175

Total time: 42:58 (4:18/km)

Previous PB was 43:13 in August 2019.

Cheers

[TheEd]

this is very nice Markco .. the fact that you able to produce this shows how you have developed

impressive

what have you got planned for now

TheEd

[MarkCo]

Many thanks, yes I'm quite pleased with progress.

My plan is to do another cycle, then after that probably go to the off-period and build-up. That would take me to around the end of March, with the aim being to start on the 10k program again and hopefully do some races all things being well.

Does that sound reasonable? Happy to consider any other suggestions if you think different?

Many thanks

[TheEd]

no that is good markco .. we play by ear accordingly

onwards TheEd

[MarkCo]

Ok great, thanks. That's the plan then!

25 Jan
11.55km in 57:06
4:57/km
AV HR 140

27 Jan
11.01km in 54:26
4:57/km
AV HR 147

29 Jan
10.01km in 48:04
4:48/km
AV HR 147

30 Jan - NEW CYCLE day 1
16.45km in 1:21:16
4:56/km
AV HR 142

31 Jan
10.68km in 53:33
5:01/km
AV HR 141

1 Feb - 5x2000
2km easy WU and CD
Started out a fair bit easier than last cycle, and generally felt it was a slightly more relaxed session. All felt pretty good from the 2nd interval onwards in terms of consistency.

Interval / time (splits) / AV HR / Max HR / Min HR
1 / 8:45 (4:26, 4:18) / 154 / 162 / 122
2 / 8:17 (4:08, 4:08) / 160 / 173 / 121
3 / 8:17 (4:09, 4:07) / 163 / 171 / 126
4 / 8:11 (4:07, 4:03 ) / 166 / 175 / 128
5 / 8:03 (4:07, 3:56 ) / 166 / 178 / 121
Average pace during intervals 4:10 /km

Previous 5x2000 from 6 Jan:

Interval / time (splits) / AV HR / Max HR / Min HR
1 / 8:19 (4:09, 4:09) / 158 / 166 / 122
2 / 8:10 (4:04, 4:06) / 163 / 170 / 127
3 / 8:07 (4:05, 4:02) / 165 / 172 / 131
4 / 8:11 (4:05, 4:06 ) / 166 / 173 / 133
5 / 8:03 (4:06, 3:57) / 167 / 175 / 125
Average pace during intervals 4:05/km

[TheEd]

Hi markco, your level is definitely improving .. the 2k session is well delivered and shows the experience gained in this session

nice going and onwards TheEd

[MarkCo]

Hi TheEd

Many thanks. Latest update below...

3 Feb - long run
19.32km in 1:38:44
AV pace 5:07/km
AV HR 141
Hilly route with 280m elevation gain

5 Feb
11.04km in 53:19
AV pace 4:50/km
AV HR 144

6 Feb - 6x1000
Felt I pushed too hard on this session. Fastest 1000s yet but as you can see from the HR figures it was a harder effort and I had to back off a little in the 4th interval to avoid running out of gas. I was mindful of not overdoing it from the start but I guess I need to retune my perception of 5k pace! Also, I think I need to try and shift the cycle so that speed sessions are not at the weekend - parks in London are incredibly busy at the moment at the weekends it is not ideal to have to dodge people continually!

2km easy pace WU & CD

km / time / av HR / max HR / min HR after rest (60 seconds walking)
1 / 4:02 / 158 / 168 / 135
2 / 3:52 / 164 / 174 / 145
3 / 3:50 / 168 / 180 / 150
4 / 3:56 / 167 / 176 / 143
5 / 3:51 / 170 / 183 / 145
6 / 3:51 / 170 / 179 / 144
Av. Pace of intervals 3:54/km

Previous 6x1000 session from 11 Jan:

km / time / av HR / max HR / min HR after rest (60 seconds walking)
1 / 4:00 / 151 / 165 / 125
2 / 3:56 / 158 / 170 / 131
3 / 3:57 / 160 / 169 / 131
4 / 3:52 / 163 / 172 / 137
5 / 3:56 / 161 / 171 / 135
6 / 3:55 / 163 / 175 / 131
Av. Pace of intervals 3:56/km

7 Feb
7.65km in 38:29
AV pace 5:02/km
AV HR 136

I've noticed over the past few weeks, and particularly this cycle that I've had more niggles than usual. A couple of weeks back I had some discomfort in /just under the left buttock for a few days which seems to have resolved. I've also had soreness in my left Achilles and left peroneal tendon. Also slight soreness in right Achilles. Mostly ok when running, more soreness afterwards. I think it might be a combination of increased mileage and faster speeds, and the hilly long run this cycle maybe didn't help. Perhaps need new trainers again but the ones I do most mileage in are only around 500k so not ancient and I always stick with the same type which I was fine with before. Also, perhaps cold weather doesn't help - I've definitely had the peroneal and Achilles soreness before and I wonder whether it's a winter thing.

I think I will leave out today's run, and rest tomorrow as per the program and see how everything is feeling on Wednesday. It may be that I start again then but with some shorter easy runs and lay off the speedwork for a while, or may decide on a bit longer with no running if I still have soreness in those areas. Was planning to go to the off period after this cycle anyway so it does seem to suggest that is the right way to go. Look forward to hearing your thoughts - many thanks.

Cheers

[TheEd]

Hi markco .. I think you may have hit a new level in things .. maybe consider a week of easy running to give the body a chance to iron out the niggles before anything worse happens ... in truth, looking at your feedback you moving towards a 40 minute 10k runner .. definitely able to run a 41 minute 10k .. so give the body a chance to bounce back .. try not to push things for this week .. every 2nd day consider up to an hour run .. no watching of pace just back off .. work on all the niggles

then provide feedback and we take it from there

TheEd