Working towards my first sub 45 10K

[johanbakx]

Hi TheEd,

so back on the forum after the login issue, thanks for fixing. Here an update of the conclusion of the build-up. We experienced a heat wave with record temps over 40c, the hottest days were July 24th til 26th.

July 24th, day 20, work the hills (ran late in the evening temp approx. 24c)

I already completed this run when I got your info, so I executed differently. What I did was simply put in some extra effort uphill, and tried to relax downhill.

Total 55:05 at 5:12, 10.58k

of which 40:15 working the hills at 5:06, 7.88k

To compare with the simply run the hills session, this was done at a pace of 5:32.

July 25th, rested, record temp of 40.7C!!!  " alt="" title="">

July 26th, day 21, 75m easy

Still incredibly hot and had to run at 10am when it was already over 30c. Cut the training short to 36m.

Total 36:40 at 5:40, 6.48k

July 27th, 4k time trial

Today it was thankfully a lot cooler, so I did the time trial. Had no idea what to expect after the build-up, decided to just run at demanding pace I felt I could manage for 4k. The result was very pleasing.

4k in 17:39 at 4:25

4:32

4:24

4:17

4:25

It was a demanding effort (HR est. 170+) but very nice to have the good form confirmed. To compare, my last 5k time trial was at 4:35, the last 6x1k session at 4:27. So after the build-up with all those long runs I still have some pace in me! On to the next cycle!

Normally the cycles start on Wednesday. What would you recommend until then, just long runs or some pace work as well? I'd like some pace work ?, but let me know what you think is best. Race day now 35 days away...

Johan