Chasing the sub 50 10k - for what seems like forever

Bluesquare

Last nights session as per training schedule :

10/15 mins warm up
10 mins steady
10 mins hard
10 minds harder
10/15 mins cool down

No clear indication of what this meant exactly so had a rough plan of steady : 5:37, hard 5:15 and harder : 5:00

So warmed up @ 6:03 for 13 mins
Steady ten mins 5:36
Hard ten mins : 5:25 ( very windy so hard effort )
Harder ten mins: 5:03
Cool down : 13 mins @ 5:55

Felt ok . Find it hard to run into the wind . Breathing all over shop. Never got a slow lunchtime run as had blocked out memory of client visit.

Need to work hard now on sleep and healthy eating ! Tough job coming into bank holiday weekend !

Bluesquare

Well Ok I bottled it . Sunday was a bit breezy . I started with the sub 50 pacer . Ran 1k @5:00 then really started to struggle against the wind on the incline . Difficult to regulate breathing , windy running is the one instance that I think being ashmatic hurts my running . Anyways not to dwell by 3k I had skipped to a 5:22 k . We turned the corner and the wind was eased but I was finding it tough, I decided then to stop trying and enjoy the run , so I slowed down to a 9 min mile (5.36 min k). I trotted along enjoying it until I heard voices behind me , two girls from the club that never shut up and were chatting up the 55 min pacer, I eased up the pace and waited for them , told them to stop yaking whilst preceding to join the banter. We decided to speed up slightly and stop annoying the sub 55 group.

Had an enjoyable km @ 5:22. I was secretly delighted to be one of the annoying ones yapping away whilst others were trying hard around me. We started to speed up and lost a buddy . Lap 6 was a chatty 5:09 , it ended as we approached the runs large incline which was about a k long . My chatty buddy that has lungs like a horse took off and found someone else to chat with , I decided to keep with my enjoying it buzz and slowed to a comfortable pace of 5:45. After this it was only 3k left and I had no friends left so I just ran at a nice tempo pace (5:10), not easy but it felt ok . I started passing people with ease and this was a mighty buzz as I'm usually being passed at this stage of a race. I kept going at the same pace until 9k , then I sped up slightly for the home straight 5:03. That stupid wind ruined my buzz again at the end and what could have been a mighty finish!! Anyways finished in 53:20 and enjoyed it immensely. Spread after was super and was like being in the pub for a bit , local races have a special edge!!

I wussed out but that was plan b . If it's not in the legs enjoy and don't torture self . I have to keep running enjoyable .

I have a half baked plan at the moment , I have some willing victims and a couple of target races in mind .

The mo run looks like a reasonable target but it's too far away so I need some stepping stone goals. So a sub 24 5k is part of my plan , going to add in the odd park run. I never run 5ks but I think I need to practice pain and pacing. My local park run is a tough one , grassy and hilly , apparently adds 1/2 mins onto your time , I'm embarrassed to say I've never done it.

Once the tenk schedule is ready ill fill ye in but the first week is as follows:

Tues: 2 mile warm up , two mile tempo (8.00-815), two mile cool down
Thursday : 5 mile easy
Saturday : park run
Sunday : 8 mile easy

Bluesquare

Right! The new me - made everyone go slow for the warm up we did 2.2 mile@ 9:55. Believe me this is a vast improvement . Then 3.2k at 4:58. First spilt was 4:59, second 5:06 (took in large hill) and 3rd which included said hill down was 4:50. So on the money 4:58 m per k. Slowed down for last one to try and keep within the times perscribed. It felt good . Cooled down 2.4 mi@10 min mile . I cracked the whip and made sure we stayed at a cool down pace . Dunno how long i can keep these ponies cantering at a perscribed pace !!

On Sunday when I was supposed to be racing I couldn't get under 5:00 to save my life, my fastest spilt was the first one at 5:00! Last night I had to force my self to slow down ! Traitorous body,

S.L.F.

Well fair play BlueSquare for all the racing you do, i wish I had your motivation!

Bluesquare

S.L.F. wrote: »

Well fair play BlueSquare for all the racing you do, i wish I had your motivation!

Im motivated by food mostly !! Seriously though I am in a club and have a group of likeminded/ similar ability runners who I run with. We keep each other going and are motivated to stay with the group fitness rise so not too much slacking . Races and running can be fun and I need to remind myself of that from time to time .

Would you be interested in a club ? Maybe there is one close by? Or a running group ? Easier to get up and go when you have people depending on you

S.L.F.

Bluesquare wrote: »

Im motivated by food mostly !! Seriously though I am in a club and have a group of likeminded/ similar ability runners who I run with. We keep each other going and are motivated to stay with the group fitness rise so not too much slacking . Races and running can be fun and I need to remind myself of that from time to time .

Would you be interested in a club ? Maybe there is one close by? Or a running group ? Easier to get up and go when you have people depending on you

Yeah I know what you mean.
I was in a Triathlon club for a while but had to give it up due to ear infections in the water.
I do remember though that my running came on really well in that time.
I might start looking at a club, it seems Im not able to do the speed thing on my own really.
In fact Im getting bloody slower since I get disappointed if I dont hit the target pace and end up walking or giving up at times.

You definitely sound like you're enjoying your runs though, its great to read someone whos happy running.

annapr

Bluesquare wrote: »

Right! The new me - made everyone go slow for the warm up we did 2.2 mile@ 9:55. Believe me this is a vast improvement . Then 3.2k at 4:58. First spilt was 4:59, second 5:06 (took in large hill) and 3rd which included said hill down was 4:50. So on the money 4:58 m per k. Slowed down for last one to try and keep within the times perscribed. It felt good . Cooled down 2.4 mi@10 min mile . I cracked the whip and made sure we stayed at a cool down pace . Dunno how long i can keep these ponies cantering at a perscribed pace !!

On Sunday when I was supposed to be racing I couldn't get under 5:00 to save my life, my fastest spilt was the first one at 5:00! Last night I had to force my self to slow down ! Traitorous body,

Well done... just tell them it will do them all good in the long run to slow down You might even start believing it yourself...

Bluesquare

annapr wrote: »

Well done... just tell them it will do them all good in the long run to slow down You might even start believing it yourself...

I do believe it , I do I do !!!

Seriously though we as a group train hard (mostly) and haven't seen a huge amount of improvement . I think I may have convinced them this time this is where we are going wrong . Baby steps !

Bluesquare

Thursday - 5 mile @ 6:10, even enough splits

Saturday ....drum roll please ..... first ever park run!!

My arch nemesis aka wind turned up . The brat.

Anyways why have I waited so long !!

My local run is a tough one so lots of folk avoid because they think if others see their time on this course the won't know how amazing their running really is . This is a real thing . It is .


Anyways it's all on grass and a wee bit hilly . There was only about 85 folk there . Lots of serious guys doing all sorts of gymnastic stretches before hand. Not for me they looked fierce dangerous . I opted for a10/15 min trot around a couple of fields instead . Shocking slow too.

Anyways because we got the new people chat we started near the front . I panicked before starting thinking I'm going to block all these speedy folk !

Anyways we were off and anyone who wanted to rushed by me. I didn't really have a plan but my friend at set her watch to do 5:05 so I went with that . The first bit was up and into the nemesis, not a good start breathing wise . But I had a chat with myself - don't panic , not a race , a timed tempo. The first lap was 5:08. There were a lot of fields and ups and downs and everybody seemed to settle in their place . I did wonder how you would pass someone in a lot of sections - there's probably an etiquette of some sort. My run plan was to practice pushing myself without stopping or slowing but to keep going . I'm not sure stopping was an option - may have caused a pile up .

Anyways lap 3 I was really struggling on a slight climb and a lot of wind and my lap time was 5:17. Lap 4 I can't really remember that well only that I recovered from lap 3 and settled into a nice comfortable hard pace . Then with one lap to go all caution to the wind ! At about 500m out I Caught two people who where between me and my friend , thankfully there was room to pass both on the outside the second person I passed tried to keep up but couldn't , then the nemesis was back to annoy me but I kept pushing till the end . Last lap 4:42 .

Very happy to finish , final time 25:32. And wait for it .... first in category !!!!! It said it on an e-mail it really did , ok so there wasn't a lot of people there , but it was on an e-mail. Delighted

I underestimated the recovery needed after that . Some muscles came out of retirement for the occasion , ouch the quads !

Bluesquare

And 8 mile slow Sundays @ ten min mile , yes I know not slow enough. Baby steps
, legs ached , not helped by a visit to croke park and a lot of steps .

The plan for this week is not much of a plan . In the uk from Thursday to Sunday with the family so will struggle to run . Bringing the runners and hoping for the best .

I have a mammoth sessions scheduled for tomorrow so it will only be slow running after that anyway . Mac millan - the first training session in the ultimate ten k schedule . 6* 1 mile repeats at target race pace ..........

Younganne

Bluesquare wrote: »

Thursday - 5 mile @ 6:10, even enough splits

Saturday ....drum roll please ..... first ever park run!!

My arch nemesis aka wind turned up . The brat.

Anyways why have a waited so long !!

My local run is a tough one so lots of folk avoid because they think if others see their time on this course the won't know how amazing their running really is . This is a real thing . It is .


Anyways it's all on grass and a wee bit hilly . There was only about 85 folk there . Lots of seroius guys doing all sorts of gymnastic stretches before hand. Not be they looked fierce dangerous . I opted for a10/15 trot around a couple of fields instead . Shocking slow too.

Anyways because we got the new people chat we started near the front . I panicked before starting thinking I'm going to block all these speedy folk !

Anyways we were off and anyone who wanted to rushed by me. I didn't really have a plan but my friend at set her watch to do 5:05 so I went with that . The first bit was up and into the nemesis .nit a good start breathing wise . But I had a chat with myself - don't panic , not a race , a timed tempo. The first lap was 5:08. There were a lot of fields and ups and downs and everybody seemed to settle in their place . I did wonder how you would pass someone in a lot of sections - there's probably an etiquette of some sort. my plan was to practice pushing without stopping or slowing but to keep going . I'm not sure stopping was an option - may have caused a pile up .

Anyways lap 3 I was really struggling on a slight climb and a lot of wind and my lap time was 5:17. Lap 4 i can't really remember that well only that I recovered from lap 3 and was settled into a nice comfortable hard pace . Then with one lap to go all caution to the wind ! At about 500m out I had. Aught the two people between me and my friend , thankfully there was room to pass both on the outside the second person I passed tried to keep up but couldn't , then the nemesis was back to annoy me but I kept pushing till the end . Last lap 4:42 .

Very happy to finish , final time 25:32. And wait for it .... first in category !!!!! It said it on an e-mail it really did , ok so there wasn't a lot of people there , but it was on an e-mail. Delighted

I underestimated the recovery needed after that . Some muscles came out of retirement for the occasion , ouch the quads !

I did this same Parkrun, by the sounds of it, for the first time with my 8 year old a few weeks back and i had the same thoughts about how to pass people. I was running in long grass as we passed people as i let her stay on the track, but it is very narrow in places. I don't like the gravel on the steep hill either!!

Daughter said she didn't like it and we will stick with out own in future. Its a great workout though!! Well done on the category win.

annapr

Welcome to the wonderful world of parkrun . I warn you, it's addictive.... good time on what sounds like a tough course too.

I'm sure you could find a parkrun near you in the UK this week... DFYB!

Bluesquare

Younganne wrote: »

I did this same Parkrun, by the sounds of it, for the first time with my 8 year old a few weeks back and i had the same thoughts about how to pass people. I was running in long grass as we passed people as i let her stay on the track, but it is very narrow in places. I don't like the gravel on the steep hill either!!

Daughter said she didn't like it and we will stick with out own in future. Its a great workout though!! Well done on the category win.

Sounds like the same place all right , that gravel hill is dangerous you can't really fly down it !! There is a bit of long grass that hasn't been cut that makes it feel hard core . 😂 I have run in the park a lot just not the official park run and there is a great boardwalk back into town perfect for running on .

Bluesquare

annapr wrote: »

Welcome to the wonderful world of parkrun . I warn you, it's addictive.... good time on what sounds like a tough course too.

I'm sure you could find a parkrun near you in the UK this week... DFYB!

Lol - I looked it up on Saturday when I got back in the door . I'm heading to Bromley on Friday night and there is one there ! I am tempted but it really depends on Friday night !!

annapr

Bluesquare wrote: »

Lol - I looked it up on Saturday when I got back in the door . I'm heading to Bromley on Friday night and there is one there ! I am tempted but it really depends on Friday night !!

You can't beat parkrun tourism .

Good luck with the 10k plan too, will follow with interest, at some point I'm going to do one of those too!

Bluesquare

I feel like Robin from teen titans . Apologies if you don't have an 8 year old boy or are a total nerd (I use the word nerd in the nicest possible way) you may not get the reference . A human kid in a team with a bunch of other kids that have cool super powers but are lazy as hell , the "leader" who tries unsuccessfully to get the rest to train hard to be super heroes .

Anyways yesterday I was exhausted before I started . I have a long daily commute and have been a little naughty with going to bed on time . My legs were still a bit achey from the weekend . But I was pumped on caffeine and sugar and ready to go .

The warm up was tough at ten min mile so the concept of anything faster at this point was laughable .

Anyways the titans went off and we kept the pace admirably to a nice even 5:00 min k or the first mile . (8:01) We jogged slowly four 4 mins then picked it up again .

The second mile again was spot on 5:00 mink.(8:01) (Someone not me good at pacing)

Another 4 min jog rest . Third lap we came in at 5:01 (8:03) the 3 sec extra pace wise just down to pacing as opposed to a slip in effort .

Then the whining set in . This is too hard . The session is too hard . We are tired . We are not fit . Blah blah blah . They are all fitter then me and didn't appear to be struggling . Maybe because they are not used to training in miles . Usually are intervals are at a harder pace (v02 max) so the moaning didn't really make sense . I had started of wrecked but was motoring along nicely and eager to finish session.

Not to be , I had a mutiny in the first night out . They decided they only wanted to do one more . Nobody had slipped up in pace anything at this stage- baffling . I couldn't do the rest by myself well I could have but the light was slipping and didn't fancy been out by myself . Maybe I'm just as bad as rest but I felt very deflated at that stage.

We did the last one in a pace of 4:57 or 7:56 and jogged back a mile to the cars.

The pace didn't feel strained at any stage just comfortably hard - I think the last two would have been ok but hard to know .

Still feeling annoyed this morning . I think we need a sports phycologist up these regions . Bloody flakes .

S.L.F.

Bluesquare wrote: »

I feel like Robin from teen titans . Apologies if you don't have an 8 year old boy or are a total nerd (I use the word nerd in the nicest possible way) you may not get the reference . A human kid in a team with a bunch of other kids that have cool super powers but are lazy as hell , the "leader" who tries unsuccessfully to get the rest to train hard to be super heroes .

Anyways yesterday I was exhausted before I started . I have a long daily commute and have been a little naughty with going to bed on time . My legs were still a bit achey from the weekend . But I was pumped on caffeine and sugar and ready to go .

The warm up was tough at ten min mile so the concept of anything faster at this point was laughable .

Anyways the titans went off and we kept the pace admirably to a nice even 5:00 min k or the first mile . (8:01) We jogged slowly four 4 mins then picked it up again .

The second mile again was spot on 5:00 mink.(8:01) (Someone not me good at pacing)

Another 4 min jog rest . Third lap we came in at 5:01 (8:03) the 3 sec extra pace wise just down to pacing as opposed to a slip in effort .

Then the whining set in . This is too hard . The session is too hard . We are tired . We are not fit . Blah blah blah . They are all fitter then me and didn't appear to be struggling . Maybe because they are not used to training in miles . Usually are intervals are at a harder pace (v02 max) so the moaning didn't really make sense . I had started of wrecked but was motoring along nicely and eager to finish session.

Not to be , I had a mutiny in the first night out . They decided they only wanted to do one more . Nobody had slipped up in pace anything at this stage- baffling . I couldn't do the rest by myself well I could have but the light was slipping and didn't fancy been out by myself . Maybe I'm just as bad as rest but I felt very deflated at that stage.

We did the last one in a pace of 4:57 or 7:56 and jogged back a mile to the cars.

The pace didn't feel strained at any stage just comfortably hard - I think the last two would have been ok but hard to know .

Still feeling annoyed this morning . I think we need a sports phycologist up these regions . Bloody flakes .

still a very good effort though, id be happy with that

annapr

Good on ya, BS/Robin, stick with it. Don't let them bring you down!

Bluesquare

Nothing very exciting to report except exhaustion !! 4 days in London city including a trip to Lego land and a family wedding has me wrecked and bloated hugely from sheer gluttony and bad food choices, lack of water etc etc .

Managed to sneak in two 5ks neither of which are particularly memorable . There didn't seem to be anyway near the amount of pavement warriors around as home. In fact the first morning I didn't meet a single jogger - oh yeah and got horrifically lost and had to ring the hubby to come rescue me - stupid map app thingy wouldn't work. Actually now that I remember it was more like 7k because of the getting lost bit. The second 5k was down a big hill and back up - tried to make this one a little bit faster @ 5:25 - would have liked to have gone further but no time .

So not a huge amount of running last week about 29k all together but legs now recovered from the previous week.

A bit of slow running at lunch time today - mileage depending on work situation - god knows what has happened in the two days I was away!

Bluesquare

A quick post to keep me honest !

I did 5 slow miles at lunch time yesterday at a ten min mile . Heart rate was low but limbs felt leadish. That would be the heavy weekend then .

Anyways the plan for the rest of the week :

Tues: 30 min tempo on hilly terrain . 8:25-830. Although I'm not sure if the pace is realistic for the terrain . This run should include 30 mins warm up and cool down . More than likely will be 7 miles in total.

Wed: 3-5 mile slow ( lunchtime so depending on how busy I am )

Friday : 10k slow

Sunday : 5k race in hilly course

This is a local one that I signed up to support a friend . Not my idea of fun but it will suffice as second hard run of the week . Sorry to say it means that I won't get a long run in at the weekend unless I can turn the ten k Friday into 8 mile .

Trying hard to keep all non sessions easy. Ignoring the herd and doing my thing !

Bluesquare

The tempo speed for the run was actually 8:15- 820 not whatever I typed yesterday.

So warm up was 2 mile @ 6 mile . This was as slow as I could make them go. Still an improvement

Tempo 30 mins @ 5:08 . Splits paces 5:10,5:11,5:07,5:10,508, 4:56 (average approx 5:09 ish so about 8:15)

Cool down ; 2 mile @ 6:10

So good day at the office . Overall mileage a bit more then expected @ 12:16k. Not as hilly as planned but 2nd k and 4th k had good climbs.

I felt fine - although last section was too fast and slowed to ensure breathing controlled .

Such a warm night - apparently at 93% humidity . Definitely added to the the runs toughness levels .

We are definitely controlling pace a lot better and mostly not " beating" the workout and then sprinting back to finish up . I'm hopeful this means I am ok then for more running albeit slower ones.

I had the second Macmillan workout planned for next Tuesday but don't want to scare everyone again . Any ideas on a slightly watered down version in ks. These guys work in ks!!

I was thinking 3k, (5min jog rest) 2k, 3/4 min jog rest , 1200m , 2/3 min jog rest , 1k , all at 4:59 or 8 min miles ???

Any thoughts ???

We do have a club schedule but it's not tenk specific so I have tried to add in some tenk specific workouts with target pace aka Macmillan, but I scared the folk off . We would normally do intervals at v02 max with same time walk breaks but at most 4/5 and never over 1200 m.

Then every 2nd/3rd week adding a park run /5k as the second weekly @ session and replacing a session with some slow miles .

S.L.F.

Bluesquare wrote: »

The tempo speed for the run was actually 8:15- 820 not whatever I typed yesterday.

So warm up was 2 mile @ 6 mile . This was as slow as I could make them go. Still an improvement

Tempo 30 mins @ 5:08 . Splits paces 5:10,5:11,5:07,5:10,508, 4:56 (average approx 5:09 ish so about 8:15)

Cool down ; 2 mile @ 6:10

So good day at the office . Overall mileage a bit more then expected @ 12:16k. Not as hilly as planned but 2nd k and 4th k had good climbs.

I felt fine - although last section was too fast and slowed to ensure breathing controlled .

Such a warm night - apparently at 93% humidity . Definitely added to the the runs toughness levels .

We are definitely controlling pace a lot better and mostly not " beating" the workout and then sprinting back to finish up . I'm hopeful this means I am ok then for more running albeit slower ones.

I had the second Macmillan workout planned for next Tuesday but don't want to scare everyone again . Any ideas on a slightly watered down version in ks. These guys work in ks!!

I was thinking 3k, (5min jog rest) 2k, 3/4 min jog rest , 1200m , 2/3 min jog rest , 1k , all at 4:59 or 8 min miles ???

Any thoughts ???

We do have a club schedule but it's not tenk specific so I have tried to add in some tenk specific workouts with target pace aka Macmillan, but I scared the folk off . We would normally do intervals at v02 max with same time walk breaks but at most 4/5 and never over 1200 m.

Then every 2nd/3rd week adding a park run /5k as the second weekly @ session and replacing a session with some slow miles .

Excellent work BS, with regards to Mc M plan, i think judging from your tempo that you don't need a watered down version.

Bluesquare

Nothing very exciting to report - I did a"recovery" 5k on Wednesday which probably wasn't the best idea I ever had . My stomach was quite unwell from after the run the night before and sleep was lacking . ( dunno if had mini bug or 1 to many protein bars) Anyways 5k @6:10 - it felt ok chatted all the way but heart rate completely in red - 164 bmp. Whoops . Hoping it was due to being a bit under the weather . Still testing my thyroid - hoping can do 3 concurrent runs without needing too much recovery time .

The proof will be in the running .

Bluesquare

8 miles @6:10 . Nice easy chatty run , a bit hilly but grand . Heart rate back to normal as in average 146 bmp , 143 is top of aerobic zone for me . I think this was ok given the fact I was gabbing non stop for the whole time !

Friday evening not ideal for running - tired now.

Next up - hilly 5k race Sunday . Tempo pace 5:10 if possible not sure how hilly it is !

Bluesquare

So got up about ten rubbing my neck ,must have slept in odd position , ouch. I had some porridge and a cuppa , played some draughts with the wee lad,went the the loo about 15 times, gathered my bits and pieces , slight panic only a small bit of ventolin ,found one nurofen to take for pain in neck before race .

Arrived at race HQ at 1135. Oddly there were two Porto loos , men and women, this situation didn't last very long as I took it upon self to form second queue outside the gents !

Anyways thought we better warm up , we gingerly tiptoed around some fresh cow pats and out of the field . The start line was at the bottom of a huge hill - exciting times ahead . Ran up to top of said hill and a bit beyond and back ,not the best warm up in the world but sure better then nothing . A hill start would have been intimidating but I told myself it's a tempo, your second tough session of the week - we are not looking for records here ! My partner in crime had decided that we were aiming for 25 mins and set watch accordingly

Small enough race with only a handful of club runners scattered around . Not a chipped start but only a couple of secs anyway before crossing the line .

So off we went up the huge hill , looked at watch 4:25 - hello legs slow down ! The hill is about 400m I think so not the best way to start a race , slight downhill after but then up again . I decided I was going with my legs and not being a slave to a beeping watch . First k clicked at 5:02 . Not bad given the terrain . Second k more of the same - up and down and up and down . Difficult to gain time on downhills as never fully recovered from the continuous up hills . Second k 5:03

Third k we became tourist attractions . New grange to the right sweaty red faced running Irish folk to the left !!! C'mon people , I'm surprised the busses didn't topple over the rush to take photos of us !!!!! My shorts kept falling down as the tie pull thing was missing ! I may have looked like I was running bare bellied for a while . It was very distracting the constant pulling up of pants and down of top .

Third k was the toughest with more up then down by a long shot - 5:06.

I could see my friend ahead she seemed to be sticking to her guns with the 5 min Kms

The fourth k was also tough but we were on the home straight now so happy to know it would be over soon . (5:02). Started to overtake folk , well about 3/4 . Wasn't convinced they weren't going to catch me again as felt I wasn't moving that fast . Thought we had a big hill left to go up before going back down that hill from the start but no turned the corner and all I had to do was run down that hill . Passed another bloke and ran like a rhino . Came in just behind my buddy - very surprised to see clock saying 24 47. Thought the course had to be short cause the numbers didn't add up in my head - I knew what all my splits had been so it didn't make sense . Looked at my watch - last k in 4:32 .

A pb !! Now I have ran according to my watch a 24 35 in the middle of a tenk but hey it wasn't chipped so a new official pb !!

And yes i think I did race it if my heart rate is anything to go by (168 with a max of 188) It was tough due to the hills - don't think I have ran a hiller course .

I don't know how it would translate to a flat course on a cooler day with a bit of tapering . Don't know if I had more left to give .

Anyways this passing people is the job - a new thing for me !!

Unfortunately I never learn . The taking of nurofen to block pain ehh not smart . Now lying in bed with a hot water bottle on my neck and in agony - I have done a serious job on my neck /shoulder . May have to not train for couple of days because it hurts so much . Poor me . Silly me . Be warned !

S.L.F.

Bluesquare wrote: »

So got up about ten rubbing my neck ,must have slept in odd position , ouch. I had some porridge and a cuppa , played some draughts with the wee lad,went the the loo about 15 times, gathered my bits and pieces , slight panic only a small bit of ventolin ,found one nurofen to take for pain in neck before race .

Arrived at race HQ at 1135. Oddly there were two Porto loos , men and women, this situation didn't last very long as I took it upon self to form second queue outside the gents !

Anyways thought we better warm up , we gingerly tiptoed around some fresh cow pats and out of the field . The start line was at the bottom of a huge hill - exciting times ahead . Ran up to top of said hill and a bit beyond and back ,not the best warm up in the world but sure better then nothing . A hill start would have been intimidating but I told myself it's a tempo, your second tough session of the week - we are not looking for records here ! My partner in crime had decided that we were aiming for 25 mins and set watch accordingly

Small enough race with only a handful of club runners scattered around . Not a chipped start but only a couple of secs anyway before crossing the line .

So off we went up the huge hill , looked at watch 4:25 - hello legs slow down ! The hill is about 400m I think so not the best way to start a race , slight downhill after but then up again . I decided I was going with my legs and not being a slave to a beeping watch . First k clicked at 5:02 . Not bad given the terrain . Second k more of the same - up and down and up and down . Difficult to gain time on downhills as never fully recovered from the continuous up hills . Second k 5:03

Third k we became tourist attractions . New grange to the right sweaty red faced running Irish folk to the left !!! C'mon people , I'm surprised the busses didn't topple over the rush to take photos of us !!!!! My shorts kept falling down as the tie pull thing was missing ! I may have looked like I was running bare bellied for a while . It was very distracting the constant pulling up of pants and down of top .

Third k was the toughest with more up then down by a long shot - 5:06.

I could see my friend ahead she seemed to be sticking to her guns with the 5 min Kms

The fourth k was also tough but we were on the home straight now so happy to know it would be over soon . (5:02). Started to overtake folk , well about 3/4 . Wasn't convinced they weren't going to catch me again as felt I wasn't moving that fast . Thought we had a big hill left to go up before going back down that hill from the start but no turned the corner and all I had to do was run down that hill . Passed another bloke and ran like a rhino . Came in just behind my buddy - very surprised to see clock saying 24 47. Thought the course had to be short cause the numbers didn't add up in my head - I knew what all my splits had been so it didn't make sense . Looked at my watch - last k in 4:32 .

A pb !! Now I have ran according to my watch a 24 35 in the middle of a tenk but hey it wasn't chipped so a new official pb !!

And yes i think I did race it if my heart rate is anything to go by. It was tough due to the hills - don't think I have ran a hiller course .

I don't know how it would translate to a flat course on a cooler day with a bit of tapering . Don't know if I had more left to give .

Anyways this passing people is the job - a new thing for me !!

Unfortunately I never learn . The taking of nurofen to block pain ehh not smart . Now lying in bed with a hot water bottle on my neck and in agony - I have done a serious job on my neck /shoulder . May have to not train for couple of days because it hurts so much . Poor me . Silly me . Be warned !

Ah brilliant...delighted!! and it wasn't even me running

Kennyg71

Well done on PB, hope neck settles soon.

Bluesquare

Tuesday called for a rip off of Macmillan , made metric and cut a little short to keep people focussed and believing workout was achievable - for some reason the 6 mile repeats scared them.

So the aim of the game - run 3k, 3k, and 2k at ten k race pace with 5 mins slow jog between first two reps .

Warmup 1 mile @ 6:10

First 3k ( into wind and mostly incline /hill) : 5:05,5:10,4:58. So about 5:04 average . Slightly over the 5:00 requirement but happy with effort given the terrain .

Second 3k: 4:56, 4:48,4:55. The 1st k - was half down hill so felt easy enough , the second k was flat , slightly down and then up for about 400m , I was trying to do the first half slightly faster then pace so the uphill would average to 5:00, I somehow got stuck in the zone and charged up the hill , I felt good though and strong . Last k my pace kept slipping back to 5:03 ish which seems to be a default pace for me and I had to concentrate to push it under the 5:00.

Last 2k - i thought I'd take a back seat and let some else pace as I seem to lack to knack of getting it exact . I didn't want to " beat the workout"

The first k was 4:54 on a slight decline , the second k 4:59 on a slight incline so happy with that - the last k I did feel like I was working harder to keep the pace then before so definitely tiring .

Cool down : 1k at 6:20

Over all distance 12k

I am happy with that effort , I felt strong throughout and at no stage struggled . Now to translate into race times. No point in being the king of training .

The week after next we will try to do the full tenk - i.e upgrade the last2k to 3k and pop in the 1k at the end .

Kennyg71

Good session, and it should feel hard, when you push trough initial discomfort of next aerobic zone breathing settles as body adapts, it can sometimes be easy to switch off and think I can't manage while body settles, well done sticking with it.

Session is always harder than race, your going well.

Bluesquare

I rested Wednesday and Thursday tackled some 300s.

2 mile warm up @ 6:14

1. 300m@ 72 secs
2. 300m@72 secs
3. 300m@72 secs
4. 300m@68 secs
5. 300m@68 secs
6. 300m@68 secs

3 mins rest in between each rep

These felt ok - and I recovered quick enough in between especially in comparison with the others . Then again they were going faster than me , I couldn't go faster then I was going though. I remember a similar session about three months ago where I thought I was going to puke throughout and contemplated skulking off to die in the bushes . I think I completed these at same pace but these were much cleaner and almost pleasant .
Cool down 2 mile @ 6:10

Friday : I thought it was a wonderful idea to do my LSR or MSR as the case may be . Bad idea . My heart seemed to barely beating. After a horrific run of 9 miles @ 6:12 where I felt very week throughout I had an average bmp of 136 !! I had expected to see 176 so that was odd .

I did remember after that for some reasons speed training kills me . Think it maybe thyroid related but shaky on the science . It felt fine at the time . Should have rested !

All over doing nada today well apart from cleaning the house and all that exciting stuff .

Kennyg71

3/4 miles easy recovery after a session, and probably best to leave at least 2 days between session and LR.

annapr

Hey BS, great sessions above and well done on the 5k PB! Those sessions will really stand to you for the 10k quest. Glad the neck is ok too.

And running like a.... Rhino???? :pac:

Bluesquare

Kennyg71 wrote: »

3/4 miles easy recovery after a session, and probably best to leave at least 2 days between session and LR.

Thanks Kennyg. Should have rested for sure . Sometimes it's hard to get mileage in - but I will be smarter next time ( hopefully)

Bluesquare

annapr wrote: »

Hey BS, great sessions above and well done on the 5k PB! Those sessions will really stand to you for the 10k quest. Glad the neck is ok too.

And running like a.... Rhino???? :pac:

It was a charge down a hill , and I'm not exactly graceful !!! It felt thundering !

Bluesquare

Sunday: 5 slow hungover miles @ 6:18 min k(10:08). Late Sunday evening so not too bad

Have a couple of very social weekends coming up so need to organise around them .

Have decided to give Grant Thornton a miss - way too much going on this week and it's the first full week back at school as well and with a new starter I don't want to be AWOL more than I have to be . As in I would get home till about 11 from 630 that morning.

So a kind of step back week with 1 hard session. Worried about peaking too soon - feeling strong now !

Bluesquare

Tuesday : VO2 max session - 1200m,1k, 800m,800m with same time rest.

The VO2 max pace thst should be used is taken from a club schedule which uses your two mile trial time as a reference . Of course we didn't have a recent trial number to use so good old macmillan helped again . We settled on 4:38 or 7:25.
Warm up 1 mile @ 10:10
1200m: 4:37
1000m:4:36
800m: 4:29
800m: 4:23

Cool down 1 mile @ 9:55

Now we did try to pace exactly as per the made up VO2 max as we are "new leafers "but we were running around a circular route in a random housing estate and the pace on the garmin was all over the place . We changed the route for last one slightly to facilitate cool down and the garmin went nuts all together - I thought the pace was wavering between 5:10 and 4:40 .

Anyways these felt fine - the last times I have done these sessions they were treated as speed workouts and a flat out approach was applied . That was unpleasant . This time I felt strong and barely neeeded the full recovery .

Didn't do the normal Tuesday mileage - would have preferred a longer warm up/ cool down but in a rush .

This week is supposed to be a type of step back - with lower instentity but more road covered.

Wednesday : 5k @ 6:15 min k
Thursday : 5 mile @ 10:13 min mile

Yesterday's session was a head melt . I was trying to keep within the aerobic zone on my watch with regard to heart rate which is below 142 bmp. Started ok but into the wind it started hopping all over the place so speed up and slow down to bring it back etc . Any time I settled in to a rythym it would go up slightly to about 145 so I slowed down again . Anyway not a pleasant run hard to settle into it . My overall average heart rate was 142 so average in the correct zone but I was sad to see a bigger orange bar then a green one at the end !! Not sure using heart rate monitor on the garmin 235 is the way forward .

I'm trying to keep all my easy runs easy but this heart rate stuff is hard!!

Anyways rest day today and a LSR Saturday with a recovery Sunday!

eyrie

Bluesquare wrote: »

Yesterday's session was a head melt . I was trying to keep within the aerobic zone on my watch with regard to heart rate which is below 142 bmp. Started ok but into the wind it started hopping all over the place so speed up and slow down to bring it back etc . Any time I settled in to a rythym it would go up slightly to about 145 so I slowed down again . Anyway not a pleasant run hard to settle into it . My overall average heart rate was 142 so average in the correct zone but I was sad to see a bigger orange bar then a green one at the end !! Not sure using heart rate monitor on the garmin 235 is the way forward .

I'm trying to keep all my easy runs easy but this heart rate stuff is hard!!

I hear you! I had a miserable run into the wind yesterday, trying to keep my heart rate below 145 and failing despite going at a glacial pace! Grrrr... So it definitely wasn't just you, and I say we blame the weather!

Annie get your Run

Bluesquare wrote: »

Not sure using heart rate monitor on the garmin 235 is the way forward .

I'm trying to keep all my easy runs easy but this heart rate stuff is hard!!

You could just switch your display screen to avg HR and not set it up to stay within particular zones. I do think it's worth training by HR but the watch can drive you mad if you have it set for zones / workouts .

eyrie

Annie get your Run wrote: »

You could just switch your display screen to avg HR and not set it up to stay within particular zones. I do think it's worth training by HR but the watch can drive you made if you have it set for zones / workouts .

This is a revelation to me! I never knew you could make it show avg HR, I thought I was being all goody-two-shoes by just showing current HR (and ignoring pace, distance etc), but that's even better. Off I go to mess with the settings, thanks!

Annie get your Run

eyrie wrote: »

This is a revelation to me! I never knew you could make it show avg HR, I thought I was being all goody-two-shoes by just showing current HR (and ignoring pace, distance etc), but that's even better. Off I go to mess with the settings, thanks!

Well, now that you mention goody-two-shoes, you're probably more correct doing it that way :pac:. You can set it to avg HR but actually when I double checked my screens I've mine set to 'HR gauge'. What this does is show a screen displaying my HR (I think it's current not avg) and there's a little line along the left of the screen showing the HR zones in different colours with an arrow pointing to the zone you're currently in. I have the FR 735XT but I think it's very similar to the 235 screen wise. This will give you the info you need without beeping every few seconds giving out to you!

Apologies for the hijack Bluesquare .

Bluesquare

Thanks guys - love finding out better ways to use my watch ! I can see I can change one of the screen settings to include average heart rate which is good for easy runs - I usually use second screen for lap details but on an easy run it probably doesn't matter . Oh you can do lap hr as well !! Exciting ! Now I don't have enough fields for everything I want to put in !

Now has anyone ever adjusted their max heart rate from the generic 220- age ? Did you use the max heart rate that your watch showed up or do some eloborate fitness test ?? Just hoping my real max heart rate is higher so I can go at my perceived easy pace ! 😂

Annie get your Run

Bluesquare wrote: »

Now has anyone ever adjusted their max heart rate from the generic 220- age ? Did you use the max heart rate that your watch showed up or do some eloborate fitness test ?? Just hoping my real max heart rate is higher so I can go at my perceived easy pace ! ��

Absolutely! you absolutely must do your own max HR test in order to use HR training effectively, otherwise you could be way off on your calculations. There are some very easy and quick tests you can do - nothing elaborate or time consuming needed!

1. Do a 5K race flat out, whatever max you reach in the race you can take as your max HR
2. Go to a track, do a few warm up laps then: flat out x 400m, jog 400m, flat out x 400, jog 400 and finallly one more flat out 400m.

There are other similar kinds of workouts, some involve hill sprints etc but you get the idea. Do something that raises your HR to your max. Don't waste your time with internet formulas or the watches own rankings.

So, what are your running plans for this evening now BS

Bluesquare

Cheers!

Nearly lost a lung running for the train ! I'd say my max heart rate would have popped up there !

My max heart rate has come up as over 190 in the past . Surely that has to be an error - me being 41 and all!

Kennyg71

Bluesquare wrote: »

Cheers!

Nearly lost a lung running for the train ! I'd say my max heart rate would have popped up there !

My max heart rate has come up as over 190 in the past . Surely that has to be an error - me being 41 and all!

My max is in low 200's and l'm older than you, it's genitics, nothing to do with fitness. Your resting rate will lower with fitness.

Bluesquare

Kennyg71 wrote: »

My max is in low 200's and l'm older than you, it's genitics, nothing to do with fitness. Your resting rate will lower with fitness.

Deadly !! Just checked my last 5k from a couple of weeks back and max heart rate was 188.

I know your going to tell me now that I should be running in the easy zone not the aerobic zone and I still have to go very slow .

Thanks you guys delighted !

Bluesquare

To end the "step back" week off I trotted off ten slow miles Saturday morning @ 6:08 min k. Great run nice and chatty , solved the world's problems while keeping in aerobic zone all before breakfast .

After a party Saturday night and a couple of beverages I waited until Sunday evening to attempt a recovery . I thought I'd run with the weather so when it got particularly hairy I'd turn and go home - so I managed 3k kept going for an extra .2 to bring it to four mile . I apologise that somehow it got confusing and I ended up with 6.69 k and just couldn't be bothered running past my house.

Anyway the pace was messed up due to the wind , All in the aerobic zone which now feels odd since I adjusted the max heart rate (149 bmp) . I didn't try to go slow which I'm feeling incredibly guilty about because I was doing so well with slow , but it was horrible out there, I wanted to get home! The second part of the run whilst faster seemed effortless as I was literally flying! What a deadly feeling cruising along with the wind at your back!! Also I had refused companionship as I didn't want to ruin my slowness

Anyways 6.69k@ 5:45 min k

That brings the weekly total to 44.2 k . So not bad.

Next week will be lighter mileage wise as I have a wedding corkside at the weekend .

A big session planned for Tuesday !! We are nearly at the ultimate workout ......

annapr

Bluesquare wrote: »

I didn't try to go slow which I'm feeling incredibly guilty about because I was doing so well with slow , but it was horrible out there, I wanted to get home! The second part of the run whilst faster seemed effortless as I was literally flying! What a deadly feeling cruising along with the wind at your back!! Also I had refused companionship as I didn't want to ruin my slowness

Who are you and what did you do with Bluesquare??? :pac:

Bluesquare wrote: »

A big session planned for Tuesday !! We are nearly at the ultimate workout ......

This is getting exciting... when is your 10k race??

eyrie

I think you're definitely forgiven for not going slowly in that apocalyptic weather yesterday! As long as you're on your best behaviour from today

Bluesquare

The race is on the 15th of October . There I said it. No hiding now !!!!

It's the Marie keating 10k picked for the date. I'm guessing it has hills bring on the park and all.

Have a coulple of back up plans . Brain tumour Ireland have a tenk Corkaigh Park which is dead flat and there is a local enough run in November as well .

So all things going well I'll be changing the name of the log by xmas!!!

I'm thinking if Sarah Palin can .....

Bluesquare

What a night . My husband thinks I have finally lost the plot . Tell you what though there were lots of crazies out there , probably marathon runners mind.

Ok so the warm up wasn't the longest only about 1k@6:30. (It was a bit wet you know)

Then 3k at supposed race pace . Now the problem was here is that there wasn't a huge amount of visibility to look at watch and pace properly - made worse by me being a glasses wearer .( I did have a cap on but it was worse then useless)

So the first three k 4:52,4:57,4:54, a jog rest and a stop to try and clean off face and glasses . Then off again for second set , 4:57,4:55,4:56. Happy with this one in particular as a hilly section and wind had started to pick up. I felt a bit weak at the beginning of first one but ignored it and pushed through. Another 5 mins jog rest including stopping to wipe face,watch etc.

Couldn't see the pace on watch I think I may have pushed too hard in places.

The last set of 2k was a bit of a disaster . The first k was ok - 5 min k but the second was 5:21. Very not happy about that . Again I couldn't see the pace but thought I was clipping along nicely . I couldn't see a thing at this stage and had landed in the middle of lots of puddles, fell up pavements etc so that may have messed with pace . The first set was obviously too fast so there would have been so tiring issues . I'm hopeful that in a race I'd be able to see watch and pace a bit better??

Anyway glad to have it done .