Slow progress on the sub 35 10k plan

[TheEd]

Hi Dan, and welcome back

let's see how your recovery goes this week and then we can see how we can progress

your 10k time off the 2k pace is quite promising

some good things may come if you able to avoid problems, so keep it steady without getting too enthusiastic and lets see how we can build from here on

TheEd

[Dan_Jericho]

Thanks Ed.

The last 3 weeks look like this:
Day 1 run had to be cut short to 1hr and I missed day 5 run altogether… that’s life!
5 x 2k session, ave 3.40 per k
6 x 1k session, ave 3.28 per k
5k paced session, ave 3.36 per k / 18 mins
10 x 400m session, ave 3.10 per k. I surprised myself.
Day 19, ran an 8k tt, ave 3.44 per k. The last 1.5k was a struggle.

Generally feeling slightly quicker and fitter, though I realise a long way to go to last year’s times. Enjoying the sessions.

I have a 10k race mid-May, and looking for a 10k to race in April too. Mid-March I have a half marathon place which was given to me so I can’t really turn that down.

As always, any pointers and suggestions very welcome.

Cheers,
Dan.

[TheEd]

Dan, how far is your long run currently, are you close to covering 18k yet? If not, then you must rather treat the race, as a hard paced run, if you can.

onwards

TheEd

[Dan_Jericho]

Hi Ed,

I did the day 5 run today and covered 17.8k (11 miles) in 90 mins.

By the way my latest day 3 (5x2k) average pace was 3.31 per k.

I'm not sure how to pace the half in 2 weeks time. My thoughts are run the first half slightly relaxed in around 43mins, then push hard if I'm feeling ok in the second half. Does that sound ok?

Cheers,
Dan.

[TheEd]

sounds like a plan

TheEd

[Dan_Jericho]

Hi Ed,

Hope all well with you and the time-to-run team.

The half marathon I ran back in March went well except for the last mile when I ran out of steam & staggered to the finish line! Pleased with a 1:21 tho.

I have my next 10k race next weekend and I'll update after that with a time. Progress has been steady and injury free so far. Yesterday I ran a 17:00 5k. My recent intervals were 3:21 per k for the 1ks and 3:26 per k for the 2ks (all on the track). My long run is now up to 2 hours and I covered 23k on the most recent one. I feel progress has been made but the test is yet to come!

I have a question about the training cycle regarding two 10k races I've entered in June. The races are a week apart and I want to run well in both! The 1st race is on June19 and falls on day12 of the training cycle. The second race is on June26 and falls on day19. Do you suggest changing anything in the training cycle?

Many thanks as always,
Dan.

[TheEd]

welcome back Dan

you will be able to run both 10k events in June

simply do week 3 after the 1st 10k race, and replace the Tuesday session with 3 x 5 minutes fast @ projected 10k pace with 3 minutes easy in-between

this is meant to be a return to feeling good session and not a marker as a training session

depending when the race is, Saturday or Sunday, you do the 6 x 1 minute fast / slow as normal 2 days before the event

all good

TheEd
ps.. was the 81 minute 21k close to your best?

[TheEd]

Hi Dan, sorry we worked on the servers today, so we are reposting your last post:

Hi Ed, thanks for that, I'll run in June as suggested.

The 81min 21k is actually my best! I reckon I can better that now and will give it a go soon - looking for a half marathon but there aren't so many here over the summer.

I ran my second 10k race of 2016 this morning. I finished in 35:08. Pretty happy with that time, I thought I'd be closer to 36mins. The final 3k were hard (as always) but I felt strong enough to maintain my pace. Hoping to run sub 35 in one of next month's 10ks.

Cheers,
Dan.

[Dan_Jericho]

Hi Ed,

Here’s an update on recent races. June has been busier than originally planned - I ran in 4 races, one each weekend.
The 1st was another 21k race mostly off-road, I finished in 1:19, a new best and I pushed myself all the way.
2nd was a 21k again but on extreme hills off road, 1:54! I held back a little trying to treat it as a training session but it was really gruelling.
3rd was my first 10k of the month, off road and I finished in 37:19 and came 2nd overall. It was tough but held my pace right to the finish.
4th (this morning) was a 10k road race. I did 35:29. I was expecting to run sub35 but my legs felt tired from about 4k and my paced really dropped off in the final 2k.

So i’m thinking of doing one more training cycle with no races until day 19 and giving the sub 35 another go. I think I can do it but need to take it easy for the next cycle. Then onto the off training period.

Any pointers or comments always appreciated!

Cheers,
Dan.

[TheEd]

wow Dan, you did a lot of racing there, lack of freshness would most probably have hampered you during the last 10k

still nice going

let's see how the training goes and we can provide feedback relating to your training

onwards

TheEd