Sub-40min 10k

[TheEd]

Daniel, you progressing well, put the session down to the weather, and from experience I am not too concerned about the result.

you got the session done, and the main core block out the way. You showed progress in the 2k and Long Run and that is the positive you must take

you should feel different come the paced run this weekend

what have you planned?

TheEd

[Daniel]

Thanks TheEd,

I was planning to do an easy 60min tomorrow then skip a day to get me back on to the right schedule now that the main training block is out of the way. That should have me doing the paced run on Saturday which I'd like to do on the local parkrun.

With the hills on the course I'll just focus again on maintaining consistent effort and not worry about pace too much. Last time I did a paced run on that course it was 20:18 so I'd like to go sub-20 this time. My average pace for the 2km intervals was 4:01 so that seems a good target.

I'll keep you up to date on progress.

[TheEd]

good luck with that and enjoy the run

TheEd
ps.. remem, race time would only be next week on the program, so don't put yourself under too much pressure

[Daniel]

Did the easy 60min at a little faster pace than expected.

55:40 | 12.10 km | Avg Pace 4:36 | Avg HR 1:39

Then had a rest day and this morning was the 5km paced run which I finished in 19:51. Happy that I went sub-20 as planned.

Went a bit harder than I should have, but enjoyed the hit out. I didn't run an all out effort, but it was quite hard and a faster pace than I could maintain for another 5km. I didn't feel exhausted afterwards and recovered quite quickly so I don't expect it did any harm.

Looking forward to the race next week, my first 10km race of the year. Race is on a Sunday, so not sure if I need to adjust anything with the schedule this week?

[Daniel]

Hi TheEd,

A quick update now that I’ve done the 400m session.

Easy 60min | 1:01:32 | 13.4km | Avg Pace 4:35 | Avg HR 138
Easy 30min | 30:32 | 6.55km | Avg Pace 4:39 | Avg HR 139

10x400m R60:

Rep 1 | 1:24
Rep 2 | 1:23
Rep 3 | 1:23
Rep 4 | 1:22
Rep 5 | 1:24
Rep 6 | 1:23
Rep 7 | 1:22
Rep 8 | 1:22
Rep 9 | 1:23
Rep 10 | 1:18

Total: 13:44
Avg: 1:22

The 400’s felt good, not easy but I felt strong enough to maintain form through to the end. Forgot to take my HRM to the track unfortunately.

[TheEd]

nice consistent session, MrsDuck (the good wife) did a similar session this morning

onwards

TheEd

[Daniel]

Hi TheEd,

Race day tomorrow (Sunday). I had some pain in the left leg after the 40min easy run, right through the hip, knee, calf and ankle. Nothing serious but decided to skip the fartlek and have an extra few days to recover.

This will be my first 10k race since about August last year before my stress fracture, and the first on this program so I'm not sure what to expect / target. Despite all the improvement I've made I don't think I'm in sub-40min shape yet but not too far off.

I'm thinking I should give myself a chance by trying to go close to 20min for the first 5km split. If I can find someone running at about the right pace then and try to hold on to them through km 6-8 that might help me get through.

It's still early days so I'm not putting any pressure on myself, I'll be very happy with sub-41 at the moment, and anything I can do under that time is a bonus. My PB is 41:25 so a very good chance of breaking that.

[Daniel]

Interesting race today. I finished in 40mins exactly, not a second more or less.

My GPS watch tells me it was a bit short but that's difficult to know. I ran as planned, going through the first 5km close to 20min. It's a small, country town race so not many people and unfortunately there was nobody to tag on to for the last half of the race so I had to do it on my own.

It wasn't a difficult course, no big hills but quite a few long inclines to work through.

Very happy to finish in 40min, though it would have been nice to go a second under :/

[TheEd]

nice going, the closer you get to running sub 19.30 for 5km, the easier running sub 40 will become

so the 1k session in the next cycle should be a good indicator

onwards

TheEd

[Daniel]

Hi TheEd,

I have hurt my lower back somehow and having some trouble moving around so I can't run at the moment. I've had this same pain before and it takes a few days to clear up. Probably the running contributes but I've been doing a lot of renovating work which is most likely the main cause.

This is probably a good time for me to take a week off running, no important races coming up for a few months. I have also been getting some continuing pain in the left leg, nothing serious but a week off will hopefully let the body freshen up before it gets any worse.

I've only been doing the program now for 11 weeks now but you might remember I had a fairly low base when I started having come off a stress fracture. I'm thinking about going through the off-training and build-up considering I already need to take some time off. Do you think that's a good idea, or would you suggest restarting the normal cycle after a week's rest?

Thanks for your advice,
Daniel