My optimistic target of 35mins

[Little Ted]

Hi there
I bumped into your training programs while searching for the very thing. I've been running for about 2 1/2 years and progress has been pretty steady in that time from running about 45min for a 10k to my most recent race of 7 Feb 2010 where I clocked 38' 02". My training until now has been fairly haphazard though and I think I need something more targetted if I want to get my time down much farther. My stats are as follows:

Age: 43
Height 178cm
Weight 65kg
Resting HR 60

I thought I might try your 35min 10k program (with adjusted times) even though I haven't run under 38mins yet. I started it on Tuesday and did the 5x2k yesterday evening with the following results:

Rep 1 7:37 Av HR 168 Max HR 176
Rep 2 7:40 Av HR 177 Max HR 183
Rep 3 7:45 Av HR 178 Max HR 183
Rep 4 7:43 Av HR 179 Max HR 187
Rep 5 7:40 Av HR 179 Max HR 187 (Estimated)


Rep 5 is estimated because I accidentally pressed the lap button twice after the 1st rep and only had my watch set to record 5 reps. I haven't actually done a 4k time trial tho I did recently do a 3 mile one at 17:41 (sorry no laps or HR figures). My HR does seem awful high....I think perhaps I should have died during rep 4 or 5 :rip:. Does this seem like a sound plan or am I being too optimistic in aiming for 35mins?

Paul

[TheEd]

Hi Ted and welcome to the forums

nice times and especially age related, excellent

you not being too optimistic aiming for sub 35 minutes but you should not be using this 10km program with that as the only goal where you judge your running.

What I suggest is you use the program to become consistent with your training while keeping the long-term goal of sub 35 minutes

don't make your every training reason marked according to the sub 35 minute plan but more to take markers on how you adapt to the schedule and how it slots into your normal lifestyle.

with a more relaxed approach you will make gains and then what you now term as optimistic will become more realistic.

stick to the sub 35 minute 10km schedule

but change the quality sessions and 5km paced run and also provide me feedback on your long run and the 'time on feet' you are already used to because that may be the one area where you could pick up injury.

for your next 1000m session let's look at 3.40 per km

keep monitoring your pulse ranges and provide feedback, you may have a 'high heart rate level ceiling' which allows you to push your HR up

we will learn more about this as we progress

do monitor your morning pulse range/rate as I do believe that when that pulse drops so too will your times

you may have a racer's engine hidden in you Little Ted, so be patient and you may become pleasantly suprised, do also monitor your weight

interesting times ahead for you but you need to become consistent for you to get the better results

Hope this helps

Cheers

TheEd

[Little Ted]

Hi TheEd

Asking about my 'time on feet' I think you've spotted the biggest weakness in my training. Until about 2 weeks ago my training consisted of a quality session on Tuesday and Thursday (the quality has varied quite a lot of late) and maybe one run at the weekend...which over the winter has been a cross country race as often as not; about 20 miles a week maximum. Many weeks had no weekend run with the total down to about 12 then. This week though I've pretty much stuck to your schedule and did my long run today....not very long as 10 miles is as far as I feel comfortable going just now (though I will endeavour to get this up to 12 or 13 in the coming weeks). Details below:

Distance 10.05 miles
Time 74mins 23secs
Av HR 164
Max HR 180

Ta

Paul

[TheEd]

we should really play it by ear for the next 2 weeks so we can get you to be more consistent

so if you could provide feedback and then you can receive advice before each session to monitor your recovery and adaptation

Thanks

TheEd

[Little Ted]

Hi TheEd

Easy 30 min run on the schedule today so did my usual 6.6km route (I'll stick to using kilometres from now on as switching between miles and kms can get confusing even though I still think in mins per mile) which has a pretty decent uphill between 2.5 and 3k and a downhill between 5 and 6k.

Distance (km)__Time____Km split____HR
1____________5:06_____5:06______139
2____________9:32_____4:26______153
3___________14:34_____5:02______165
4___________19:37_____5:03______166
5___________24:28_____4:51______163
6___________28:45_____4:17______157
6.6_________ 31:30 ____2:45______165

Ta

Paul

[TheEd]

Hi Paul .. as far as my current 'guesstimate' goes, I don't think you should be running quicker than 4.30 per k for your easy runs

what must be noted that for you, less is better .. you have a good engine in there and with a little consistency you should improve a fair amount

if you are going to train consistently you will put yourself at risk of becoming injured, so we truly need to be cautious on your recovery days and particularly your 'long runs'

once you adapt to the routine we can focus a little more on getting the consistency of the easy runs added however as long as you stick to the days of the cycles and when the quality sessions must be applied

it is not a train smash if you miss an easy run due to fatigue, skipping it at present would probably be better

you must be patient here, if you can get through 3 cycles you should get a different perspective of your running gained through consistency and the benefits of routine

Hope I haven't garbled too much

Cheers

TheEd

[Little Ted]

Hi TheEd

Have taken your comments on board and skipped Monday's easy run due to being too tired. Going from training 2/3 times a week to 6 is a big jump so I won't worry too much if I miss the odd easy run. I felt quite refreshed today as a result and had a good session on the track for my 6 x 1k's.

Rep_ Time___Av____Max___After rest
1___ 3:37___174___180___134
2___ 3:36___176___183___134
3___ 3:39___177___183___139
4___ 3:38___179___187___146
5___ 3:39___180___187___146
6___ 3:32___182___188___143

Ta

Paul

[TheEd]

solid session now make sure to monitor your recovery

for your long runs over the weekend you can look at doing up to 1hr (only) at the moment

we can increase that 'time-on-feet' with care

keeping you healthy is most important

keep the feedback coming

TheEd

[Little Ted]

Did the 40min easy run this afternoon. I'm getting a little more used to popping out for these extra runs whenever I can fit them in. Didn't push too hard but the pace didn't fall off too badly.

Distance (km)__Time____Km split____HR
1____________4:59_____4:59______142
2____________9:28_____4:29______160
3___________14:08_____4:40______167
4___________18:43_____4:35______168
5___________22:58_____4:15______165
6___________27:32_____4:34______168
7___________32:24_____4:52______168
8___________36:44_____4:21______161
9___________41:07_____4:23______168


Average pace 4:34/km Av HR 163

Ta

Paul

[TheEd]

you do get a rest day Friday

so hopefully by then you feel as though recovery has taken place during the easy days

TheEd