Improving 10k time at altitude

[MarkCo]

Hi TheEd

First 2000 session today. Beautiful day for it as well. Quick catch up with activity since my last post first...

5 Nov
7.70km in 36:38
4:45/km
AV HR 148
Felt good.

8 Nov
10.22km in 49:07
4:48/km
AV HR 154

10 Nov - start of new cycle
14.60km in 1:12:33
4:58/km
AV HR 149
Felt pretty comfortable but I should probably slow the easy pace a little further so HR closer to 140.

11 Nov
Extra "rest" day. Had to lift several heavy packs of furniture in and out of car then up 2 flights of stairs so put that down as today's workout!!

12 Nov
4 x 2000s
Approx 2.5km warm up and cool down at easy pace.
Recoveries 90 seconds walking.

Interval / time (splits) / AV HR / Max HR / Min HR
1 / 8:40 (4:24, 4:16) / 164 / 175 / 129
2 / 8:32 (4:18, 4:14) / 167 / 176 / 133
3 / 8:29 (4:14, 4:14) / 170 / 177 / 137
4 / 8:16 (4:13, 4:02) / 172 / 181 / 135
Average pace during intervals 4:15/km

This was quicker than I was aiming for but felt pretty comfortable for most of it and got fairly quickly into a nice rhythm. Didn't push it until the last km and that wasn't all out so pretty pleased with that. Perhaps could have done another interval but felt it best to err on the side of caution during first cycle back etc.

Previous 2000s from 29 June for comparison:

Interval / time (splits) / av HR / max HR / min HR
1 / 8:27 (4:15, 4:12) / 162 / 173 / 128
2 / 8:25 (4:15, 4:11) / 170 / 179 / 135
3 / 8:24 (4:13, 4:11) / 173 / 180 / 142
4 / 8:30 (4:17, 4:14) / 177 / 183 / 142
5 / 8:30 (4:19, 4:11) / 177 / 187 / 142
Av pace during intervals: 4:14/km

Looking like I've recovered a fair bit of fitness already which is good news. Estimated VO2 max is up to 55 so seems to back that up also.

Cheers

[MarkCo]

13 Nov
Rest

14 Nov
Long run
18.84km in 1:35:19
5:03/km
AV HR 149

15 Nov
Recovery 7.71km in 37:39
4:53/km
AV HR 142

16 Nov
Rest

17 Nov
5 X 1,000
Again faster than I was anticipating but comfortably hard and didn't feel I was pushing until the last 400 of final interval. Comparing with the decent session I did back in May it's pretty close and I reckon I could match those figures with an all-out effort. Pleased with progress and will up to 6x1000 next cycle.

km / time / av HR / max HR / min HR after rest (60 seconds walking)
1 / 4:06 / 158 / 171 / 135
2 / 4:03 / 161 / 174 / 131
3 / 4:00 / 164 / 174 / 138
4 / 4:00 / 166 / 176 / 143
5 / 3:57 / 169 / 176 / 138
Av. Pace of intervals 4:01/km

Previous 1,000 session from 26 May:

km / time / av HR / max HR / min HR after rest (60 seconds walking)
1 / 4:06 / 156 / 165 / 129
2 / 4:03 / 159 / 168 / 131
3 / 4:01 / 163 / 174 / 137
4 / 3:54 / 166 / 176 / 140
5 / 3:56 / 168 / 177 / 144
6 / 3:53 / 169 / 178 / 144
Av. pace of intervals 3:59/km

[TheEd]

magic stuff with that 2000m session .. and yes, best to look to get pulse on easy runs lower, unless you have a race coming up soon

and not too shabby on the 1k session

TheEd
ps.. looks like everything is still well maintained and there hasn't been a massive drop off

[MarkCo]

Thanks TheEd.

I felt a bit drained after the 1k session (and a bit after the 2k), some of the symptoms I've had before after intense sessions and assumed it was a cold (slightly swollen glands in neck, sore throat, feeling "keyed up"), however as we're currently in lockdown and I'm 99% sure I couldn't have caught anything I think it's more down to the training. As I mentioned, I felt very much in control during the sessions and not a very hard / race effort, but I think maybe my body was a bit unprepared and at the same time I've retained the "runners mentality" of being able to push through during those sessions, meaning I've over-stressed the system a little.

Therefore, I've tried to tone things down a little since then, with a couple of extra rest days and slightly lower intensity. Feeling much better for it and intend to keep that in place for the time being. I think maybe I need a couple more cycles before being able to push fairly hard again. I've also slowed the easy effort down very slightly so average heart rate is close to 140 which hopefully should ensure better recovery.

18 Nov
Rest

19 Nov
10.03km easy pace in 49:41
4:57/km
Av HR 141

20 Nov
Rest

21 Nov
5k paced run. Started off conservatively and felt really comfortable just tweaking the pace gradually up.
2k warm up, 3k cool down circa 5:00/km pace.

km / pace / Av HR
1 / 4:25 / 153
2 / 4:20 / 162
3 / 4:18 / 165
4 / 4:14 / 167
5 / 4:09 / 170
Total time: 21:31 (4:18/km)

Previous 5k paced run from 30 May:

km / pace / Av HR
1 / 4:12 / 151
2 / 4:10 / 163
3 / 4:07 / 167
4 / 4:09 / 169
5 / 4:05 / 170
Total time: 20:45 (4:09/km)

22 Nov
Rest

23 Nov
12.42km easy in 1:01:03
4:55/km
Av HR 142

24 Nov
Rest

25 Nov
3 x 5 min fartlek
4km warm up and 3.5km cool down at easy pace
60 second easy pace recoveries
Felt pretty strong throughout. The last interval was a little bit harder effort than I intended but I was going on feel rather than looking at the heart monitor.

Interval / time / distance / pace / Av HR / Max HR
1 / 5:00 / 1.16km / 4:10 / 162 / 167
2 / 5:00 / 1.19km / 4:04 / 162 / 165
3 / 5:00 / 1:24km / 3:59 / 169 / 177

Currently musing what I might do for race day. I won't be doing an all-out effort for reasons I mentioned. I could do another 4k TT, or possibly a longer paced effort - perhaps 10k at 4:30/km (I know a 10k all-out effort is not recommended, but presume a controlled paced effort such as that would be OK).

cheers

[TheEd]

HI Markco, coming back will feel 'different' .. consider doing a 5k paced run for the end cycle

things will improve, though it goes without saying 2020 has been something else

onwards TheEd

[MarkCo]

27 Nov
10.92km easy in 53:50
4:56/km
AV HR 143

29 Nov
Race day. Went for a 5k paced as suggested, just a slightly harder effort and a race pace last km. Felt pretty good and 23 seconds faster than the slightly more relaxed 5k paced a week ago.

km / pace / Av HR
1 / 4:18 / 153
2 / 4:15 / 166
3 / 4:13 / 168
4 / 4:18 / 171
5 / 4:02 / 172
Total time: 21:07 (4:13/km)

Previous 5k paced on 21 Nov:

km / pace / Av HR
1 / 4:25 / 153
2 / 4:20 / 162
3 / 4:18 / 165
4 / 4:14 / 167
5 / 4:09 / 170
Total time: 21:31 (4:18/km)

Onto recovery runs and new cycle in a few days. As usual will report after 2000s.

[TheEd]

Nice Markco, at east it shows improvement

make sure not to hurt yourself during the 2000 session .. start off slower and build-up the pace to make it a positive session

TheEd

[MarkCo]

Hi TheEd

I had a slightly longer break between cycles with a few aerobic runs thrown in. Started the new cycle on Tuesday so it was 2000s today which always seems to me the best place to report on progress, so here goes...

1 Dec
7.7km easy recovery in 37:41
4:53/km
AV HR 140

3 Dec
12.01km easy in 58:33
4:52/km
AV HR 145

6 Dec
10.27km in 49:01, slightly over easy pace
4:46/km
AV HR 148

8 Dec NEW CYCLE
15.01km easy in 1:14:11
4:57/km
AV HR 144
Included some hills

9 Dec
6.26km easy in 30:06
4:49/km
AV HR 147

10 Dec
5 X 2000
Stepped up from 4 repeats last cycle. Started off not too fast as recommended and progressively increased the pace. Pleasing to go under 4 mins for the last km. Felt good throughout, bouncy legs on cool down etc so hopefully my body's a bit more prepared this cycle. HR data looks better also to me, generally lower and better recovery but I'll take your advice. Look forward to hearing any feedback, recommendations for the rest of the cycle - many thanks.

Warm up and cool down 1km easy.
Recoveries 90seconds walking as usual.

Interval / time (splits) / AV HR / Max HR / Min HR
1 / 8:54 (4:27, 4:27) / 154 / 162 / 116
2 / 8:34 (4:19, 4:15) / 159 / 168 / 120
3 / 8:21 (4:11, 4:09) / 164 / 173 / 127
4 / 8:17 (4:08, 4:09 ) / 167 / 173 / 134
5 / 8:05 (4:07, 3:58) / 168 / 181 / 130
Average pace during intervals 4:13/km

Previous 2000 session on 12 Nov:

Interval / time (splits) / AV HR / Max HR / Min HR
1 / 8:40 (4:24, 4:16) / 164 / 175 / 129
2 / 8:32 (4:18, 4:14) / 167 / 176 / 133
3 / 8:29 (4:14, 4:14) / 170 / 177 / 137
4 / 8:16 (4:13, 4:02) / 172 / 181 / 135
Average pace during intervals 4:15/km.

cheers

[TheEd]

wow Markco, that is quite a decent 2000 session .. how was the 1k session as the 2k session must have given you some confidence

are you able to train through winter

TheEd

[MarkCo]

wow Markco, that is quite a decent 2000 session .. how was the 1k session as the 2k session must have given you some confidence

are you able to train through winter

TheEd

Morning TheEd!

Thanks. Haven't done the 1k session yet, that will be on Tuesday. I did the long run yesterday which went well as below. I didn't check HR throughout and was a bit surprised it wasn't lower as felt easy. Little bit tired this morning though so will do recovery run today and probably rest day tomorrow before the 1k.

12 Nov - long run

21.22km in 1:43:33

4:53/km

AV HR 151

Slightly increased pace for last 4km finishing at 4:30 pace.

I definitely plan to train through winter. The only thing that has historically been difficult is if it does snow and gets compacted and slippery, I tend to take those days off as I find it very easy to do myself an injury by twisting to correct slipping! So fingers crossed for a mild winter, wouldn't mind a little snow on Xmas day though!

Cheers