Journey to sub 33k...

[TheEd]

that should certainly be fine

TheEd

[skeldol]

the 6*1k didn't go great this week. i got the same pace as last time (smidge under 3:34) but it felt like harder work & average hr agrees. i set-off too quick, maybe the changes for my last 3 sessions also had an effect. i'm starting to race myself in the interval sessions, need to chill them out. the reason i am running them so hard is i really want to run a sub 18 5k asap & i reckon i need the 6*1k at 3:30 to achieve this which feels tantalizingly close!

i did my local fell race today. i was hoping for a sub 43 time but came in just under 44. I was the first local in & first of our club which is nice. i probably lost around one minute running the downs with a shoelace undone, then losing the shoe in mud & then having to stop again to tie the shoelace. i didn't really prepare for the race, thinking i'd use it as part of a training week. a mistake in hindsight as i really enjoyed the race, it being local & being supported by lots of people i know. not sure i paced it right, i was bent double through most of the ups & really struggled on the last 2k. reckon i ran some of the steeper ups that i would have been better walking. average heart rate for the race was 181 which is the highest i've seen for some time. main takeaway is that pacing hilly routes is really hard!!

back to normal training now until my holiday, mid august. thinking of adding in a max heart rate test soon, i've got it logged as 198 but i reckon it must be more like 195.
Next test is a 5k parkrun in 2 weeks time, come on sub 18!!!!!!

[TheEd]

I look forward to your 5k

try to run a little bit more controlled in the beginning so you don't fade too much. With lower endurance levels you will struggle more over the last 2k if you dont run in a controlled manner

try be kind to yourself, you doing great on limited training, so don't go break what is currently working

onwards

TheEd

[skeldol]

Thanks for the tips.
Bit of a mixed week because I caused myself a few complications in last week’s fell race. I damaged my big toe quite badly & it got infected. I also managed to bruise the base of one of my toes. I complicated things further by cycling on Monday evening, even though HR only averaged 131 I tired my legs & re-introduced a niggle in my knee. I’m starting to think the benefits of cycling aren’t worth the risk.

The day 1 run started off OK. My toe was sore & my legs ached a little from the cycling so during the run I decided to cut it down from 15k to 13k, this meant switching from road to fell. BIG MISTAKE. My poor toe on those downs, in the end I had to walk. So I probably lost about 3k from the session but I was just pleased to have made it out.

In Thursday's 5*2k I aim for my previous pace of 3:45. The previous 3:45 was done on the canal using GPS which I reckon tends to flatter so I'm prepared for a bit of a fight on the track. Most of my laps are really consistent @ 1:30, a few go under and a few go over. By the end of the session I'm sure I'm way over 3:45 because many of those 1:30s could be more like 1:30.9 & that is going to have a big impact on average pace. It was a great surprise to see 3:45.2 when I finally added all those lap times up!

And finally the long run. I normally do the long run as a fell run but given the state of my foot & the fact a feint niggle has arrived I decide to try a 22k around a lake, I assume the route is flat & easy. I've never done a flat long run & it'll be interesting to see the pace I achieve. The path round the lake turned out to be rubbish & eventually I abandoned & ran back. To make up distance I decided to run down random roads until I got over 90 mins but I had to cut the run short as the bruising that I mentioned earlier stated to make itself known, it wasn’t massively painful but I figured best not aggravate it. A few hours after the run the niggle in my knee was a little worse, but nowhere near an injury. Today the niggle is almost non-existant & given tomorrow is another rest day pretty sure I'll be in top form fr the 6*1 on tuesday. The brusing on my toe is probably my biggest concern but hoping a short interval session on a nice soft track will not aggrevate it.

I’m now running between 40k to 45k a week. The plan for the next month: Staying injury free is the focus. I’ll try to move the weekly mileage to a consistent 45k a week. I’ll add in a 4th run instead of the bike, so long as this run does not take me over 45k. I’m going to do some flat, faster long runs instead of doing hills for a change. No more cycling for a while.

[TheEd]

often when you injure one part of the body, we compensate to avoid the niggle, which can often lead to other complications, so take it easy during this time, to avoid things compounding

you have made a lot of progress, so do use caution

onwards

TheEd

[skeldol]

Excellent session in the 6*1k this week. Dropped the average pace down to 3:32(03:32,03:31,03:31,03:31,03:34,03:33), the whole session felt much less of a fight than last time.

I ran Thursday’s run a little faster than normal (78%HRR) which I think was too much, left me feeling a little tired on Friday.

Did the parkrun on Saturday. Weather conditions were terrible, lots of standing water & my focus was poor, 18:31(03:36, 03:46, 03:43, 03:44, 03:42) compared to 18:19 a month ago. Based on the 6*1k session I was hoping for 18:05 which is the pace I kicked off with. So next week I do week 3 and try again.

I was going to run today but decided to play it cautious whilst I have this niggle going on, which to be fair is hardly noticeable today but I also have a bad hangover

[skeldol]

Hello TheEd

Crazy parkrun today. Aimed for 18:15 & achieved 18:15(03:30,03:37,03:38,03:48,03:42) but not in an orderly manner. I paced myself against the winner (17:30) and as a result blew-up, pushing my HR WAY beyond anything I've seen before. Max HR was 195, which I've only every seen running hard when very unfit. Normally I max out between 186 & 190. Average HR is even crazier, 184, I normally average at around 175 in a race. When I finished the race I could barely move, had to just crouch down & recover. This HR data makes me question whether I am pushing hard enough normally in a race.

I've only improved 4 seconds with 8 weeks training & the 4 seconds seems to be due to effort rather than fitness. But I can't believe I am not fitter because interval pace times dropped in those 8 weeks & I was more efficient in long runs. I won't stress about it, back to the grind stone til the next test, hilly 10k end of August.

Cheers

[TheEd]

skeldol, analyse and look to find what works best for you, are you able to change your race tactics so you don't go into the 'burn out' zone too early

have you trained where you jump out during your interval sessions, where the first 25m is hard, the same as jumping out in a race, then settling into a rhythm focusing on pace and form, with the main target of relaxing at speed

try train yourself to sun the last 2 intervals quicker, and not the first 2

would like to hear your feedback regarding this

TheEd

[skeldol]

Thanks for the direction TheEd.

I do practice jumping out fast in the intervals but I usualy go quick for 200m which is when I take the first split timing. In races I tend to do the same, jump out quick for 200m & then TRY to settle down to target pace. I always try to focus on form in the intervals & in a race. In the intervals I'm getting much better at relaxed running but in the races I guess I get a little exciteable

Even though this recent run was a PB I think I have to label the effort a fail. If I compare it to the run I did on May 28th where I took over 30 seconds out of recent 5k times & smashed my PB then I have to say this result is a fail. If I compare the result (and effort required) to the result training suggests I should have obtained then again I label it as a fail. So looking at the two performances where I exceeded expectations this year average HR is 175 compared to 184 here so 175 is the average race HR I should be looking to achieve.

The cause of the problem in this run was obviously a 3:30 first km, I don't even do 3:30 on the 6*1k. If GPS pace wasn't so volatile I would have reigned it in but I have a tendency to err on the fast side when GPS pace is up & down every 5 seconds. Maybe erring on the slower side when I can't get a handle on pace would yield better results

So as you suggest I need to learn to start slower and finish fast. I think for the next four weeks I'll make that my focus in the intervals and in the park runs. Success will be judged by running negative splits and not by the overall time.

Thanks for helping me get some clarity! I'll write back in a month when the experiment is over

[TheEd]

you must cut the jump out to be below 100m .. so you can jump out hard the 1st 50m and the focus on form from there and get into applying pace from the 1st kilometer.

the 1st 100m should not have a negative impact on you, however 200m certainly will

in the first 400m you should be carried by the crowd around you, so if you able to focus on good form while making every intention to relax, and keep your breathing shallow, you will give yourself more of an opportunity to finish stronger

learning to race is the most exciting aspect about training towards events

on we go

TheEd