Midweek Run - Plan Advice

[SlowMow]

A very dissapointing interval session yesterday. I just didn't have the strength in my legs to carry the speed, they felt like lumps of lead. The heart rate on the splits says it all really, I just could not go any faster on the day.

Code:

Time       Avg  Max     Rest
00:08:00   166    172    130
00:08:15   163    168    122
00:08:15   161    167    125
00:08:30   158    163    120
00:08:40   158    164    120

Looking back on my last week or so of running it is pretty clear I have been running too fast again. Out of the last 10 runs, I have only run 2 of them slower than 5:00 min/km pace. It's amazing I haven't injured myself.

I have changed my route for the intervals, using a ~2.5K circuit so that I don't end up running the whole interval into the wind, but this route does have more undulation that the previous route. While this probably didn't help I feel it is more realistic of a 10K road race than the flat canal paths I was training on.

I will rest today as per the plan and then have my long run tomorrow and I intend to take it nice and slowly, heart rate < 145.

I will try to make sure I am fully rested for the 1K intervals on Tuesday.

[TheEd]

sessions do go like that and it can often feel difficult to achieve consistency however you are forming the foundation of consistency by having the various days set aside for the training

the rest will fall in place .. so don't despair it is moving in the right direction

enjoy the weekend

TheEd

[SlowMow]

Thanks for the moral support, I think I needed it after that session...

Despite torrential rain and fairly strong winds on Saturday I had a very enjoyable long run (18KM).

I still felt tired on Monday so I didn't run, however the 1K intervals went pretty well today.

Code:

Pace    Avg HR    Max HR    Rest HR
03:52    163    167    130
03:53    164    170    139
03:53    164    169    141
03:57    164    169    146
03:55    164    169    146
03:57    165    170    143

It felt like about 85-90% effort. Had it been a race I would probably have had a couple more seconds for the last split.

[TheEd]

seems like the weather is keeping you on your toes

good to hear this session was better a better feeling than the 2k's

with the long run, the last 5 days training looks to have been consistent and hopefully in the next cycle you will be able to get the result you seek in the 2k

it may be taking longer than expected however it is moving in the right direction

onwards and forwards

TheEd

[SlowMow]

Thanks TheEd.

The 5K run went well today, setting a new PB of 19:28. This felt significant easier than my previous PB (19:44). I would put this at about 90-95% effort, whereas my previous PB was definately a 100% effort.

The splits went like this:

Code:

Time        Avg HR    Max HR
00:03:49    163    174
00:03:55    173    182
00:03:58    174    183
00:04:01    171    178
00:03:45    172    179

My Garmin is also under-reading very slighty, reporting a total distance of 4.96K over the measured 5K course.

My next race will be on Friday next week (an evening 5 miler), should I take the Thursday as a rest day?

[TheEd]

nice going

and yes, take rest day Thursday .. Tuesday 6 x 1 min fast / slow

enjoy

TheEd

[SlowMow]

Hi TheEd,

I had my 5 mile race last night and while it was far from a perfectly executed race I am reasonably happy with my performance.

The start was downhill which we would have to climb on the way back to the finish, so I was conscious that I would need to make some time on the way down. However with hindsight, I think I went out too fast which made the race harder work than it would have been otherwise.

The 7pm start after a day at work didn't seem to be ideal for my performance either!

The official times haven't been released yet, but I made it 32:00 on my watch for a 3:58/k average.

The (2K) splits were: (as usual my watch is under reading distance slightly)

Code:

Time        Dist    Avg HR    Max HR
00:07:40    2    168    179
00:08:05    2    172    179
00:08:00    2    170    175
00:08:10    2    169    173
00:00:05    0.01    173    174

This felt considerably more effort than the 5K last weekend, although this course did involve some climbing and descent which the 5K course doesn't.

I have been looking at the race calendar and my next race is likely to be a 1/2 marathon on 25 September (although there are the weekly 5K races every Saturday). This will be followed by a 10K on 9th October, with the option of others on 16 and 23.

Am I best to have a few weeks of build up to work towards the 1/2, or carry on with the cycles?

Ideally I would like to get under 1:30:00 for the half which is on a reasonably hilly course.

As always, your feedback would be very much appreciated.

[TheEd]

this is definite progress, so a fair amount to be happy about

carry on with the 10k cycle training however on the first weekend look to do the minimum of a 90 minute run

definitely not advisable to run the 5k hard every week however no harm in adding paced runs to your training over the 5k course

so you can run them as a time-trial every 2nd week and then use them as training in-between

please ask questions if this is not clear

TheEd

[SlowMow]

Thanks for the feedback TheEd.

I ran 15.6 miles with my club yesterday (just under 2 hours) with only some minor stiffness today which was cured by a very pleasant and delightfully sunny recovery run with a friend (avg HR 134) :yes:.

I'll start another cycle tomorrow and I'll try an fit in the 1.5-2 hour run on Saturday although I may be unable to run on Sunday.

I will use the 5Ks on the 2nd weekend of the program, should I also use them as my "race" at the end of the cycle as I don't have any races for several weeks?

My official time for the 5 miler was published today, 31:59

[TheEd]

yes .. you can use them as races as well

TheEd
ps.. congrats on 8k time