Archives for Training category
Posted on Sep 20, 2010 under Training |
It’s been about 10 days since I posted an update at all. I don’t know if anyone is actually reading this stuff, so this is more or less a personal training log and journal about my progress.
My last update was after my 6 x 1000 M session at the track about a week and a half ago.
The training outline I had for the upcoming days after that workout here ended last night with a 4K time trial on the path behind my house.
I missed one of the workouts in that list, the 5K paced run which was supposed to be done last Sunday night I skipped. I went on hike with my wife and one of our dogs so figured why push my body and risk any more shin troubles.
Side Note: Shins have been doing pretty good. I still get a little tenderness after hard workouts but with some changes to my form and stretching things seem to be going well.
Time Trial
Yesterday was race day in my 3 week cycle so I decided to run a 5K time trial. I’ve been itching to break 19 minutes and I thought I was probably in shape to run a bit under 3:50 per KM for that distance.
I ran the time trial on the trail I do most of my easy runs around my house. I jogged the 3K to the 5K mark and was going to ran from 5K mark back to the beginning of the trial. I was aiming to keep an eye on my watch and hover around the 3:50 /K pace.
The first 1.5 K or so was on asphalt and some what of a down hill so I had no trouble keeping the pace here. In fact my first split was 3:41 and then second split even after adding a 1/2 K or more on crusher dust was 3:47. At this point the hard work started.
The trail is an old railway line so there are slight inclines that drag on for quite a while and from about half way between the 3K and 2K marker it starts to go up ever so slightly but enough to make you work harder to keep the splits.
My 3 K split was 3:52 and I continued on the incline up towards the 1K marker.
Between the 2K and 1K marker I started thinking may I’d do a 4K time trial rather then a 5K. Part of this was negative self talk, but it was justified because of feedback I got over at the TIme-to-run.com forum. He suggests using a 4K time trial to decide on your training paces. Since I had never done one of these before, and I have access to this 4K run when ever I want it was worth getting an idea of my fitness level and ability for this distance.
I picked it up hard for the last 20-30 M before I hit the 1K marker and decided to end it there.
My finishing time was 15:13 a bit slower then I probably would’ve run had I decided to do a 4K time trial up front rather then a 5K but none the less this would’ve given me a sub 19 min 5K which is a new PB by about 25-30 seconds from earlier this year… I’ll take that 
So now I start a new 3 week cycle in preparation for my final race this year on Oct 10th. This is my goal race where I will run my sub 40 10K.
This weeks Training:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 30 min easy
Wednesday: 60 min easy
Thursday: 30 min easy
Friday: 5 x 2K (@ trail or track not sure yet)
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 1.5 Hour Long Run (18-19K)
Getting excited for my race coming up as I feel confident in my fitness level and my ability to run sub 40.
Posted on Sep 09, 2010 under Training |
Things are buzzing right along, today will be my 3rd running day in a row and 5th straight day with cardio activity (on Monday we went for a 10K hike).
This week’s training re-cap so far:
Sunday – Long Run
This was a good run, did it quite early before it got to hot. Ran about 18K which is my furtherest distance to day. I’ll have one more long run before my final race of the season, I’ll aim for around the same distance but I may do it in a different location to give myself some hills to contend with. Over all was a good run, had some aches in my lower back at about the 1 hour mark, but my shins, calfs and knees held up pretty good over all.
Monday – Long Hike Day
As mentioned I did a 10K hike this day, no running, but it was a workout none the less
Tuesday – 10K Easy
A 10 K (which ended up being almost 11K) easy run around town. Did this one before I went into the office. Used some alerts on my Garmin Forerunner 305 that helped me maintain a good pace and steady HR. While the beeps that constantly went off from going too fast, too slow and raising my HR got annoying they were helpful.
Wednesday – 6 X 1K Intervals
I meant to do these on the trail by my house in the morning, the same location I did the 2K intervals last week, but I just couldn’t get up early enough. One of our dogs got sick through the early morning and I had to get up about an hour ahead of when my alarm was going to go off to go do the session. So I cancelled that idea and went to the track after work instead.
Was a great day for intervals, and was busy at the track. There were a lot of other road racers training there that I recognized, not to mention with University being back in the football team has started training.
The workout went really well, even with the lack of sleep I had the night before I felt really strong. Also I had just purchased new running shoes (Whoo hoo!) on Tuesday.
My target pace for this workout is 3:50 per K with 1 min rest between each rep. I went out and the first one felt good and I did it right on the money in 3:50 and from there on in it only got better.
Here’s my splits:
1- 3:50
2- 3:42
3- 3:45
4- 3:44
5- 3:46
6- 3:47
There are a few seconds difference in there they’re all pretty consistent and quite a bit quicker then my previous 6X 1K workout. Of course I will say that it was warmer the last time I did that workout and yesterday as an over cast cool day, perfect for this kind of session.
The results from this workout have me feeling really confident and excited for my upcoming race in about a month. Will just keep on going straight ahead with training.
Upcoming Training:
Today (Thursday): Maybe a 30 Min easy or OFF (yet to be determined see how I feel later today)
Friday: 60 Min Easy
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 5K Paced Run on Trail
Monday: 60 Min easy
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: 6 X 600 M @ 3 K (2:09 / 600M) pace with 200M Jog between each interval (my estimate 3K pace is 3:35 / K)
Thursday: 40 Min easy
Friday: 30 Min Farlek w/ 6 x 1min @ Race pace and 1 Min Slow
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 5-10K time trial
At this point it will be 3 weeks to my final race, so staying healthy and steady in training will be my most important focus.
Posted on Sep 03, 2010 under Training |
I’m finally starting to get the hang of the 5 x 2K session I’ve been doing. The goal is for it to some what emulate your performance in a 10K race, so trying to keep the intervals consistent is a big part of it rather then “racing” the intervals and trying to meet some time.
I’m moving away from using the track for a couple of reasons.
1.) It’s just too damn hot out lately to do these workouts at 10 AM when I can get to the track.
2.) Going to the track a couple of times a week was really hurting my work schedule (as it usually ate up the entire morning)
So I’m switching to doing my harder workouts and my long runs all on the trail close to my house. The KM are marked off perfectly and that’s what I used this morning as markers.
Since the trail isn’t perfectly flat (although it’s pretty damn close, I think I gained at a max about 5 M, I tried to pick a 2 K stretch that would have about equal elevation gain and loss in both directions.
I settled on the length of trail between the 1K and the 3K marker.
I got an early start today and was at the 3K marker stretching after a a 2K warm up jog at about 6:30 AM. I headed out for the first one and tried to only pay attention to the pace on my Garmin Watch rather then anything else. When I passed the 2K marker (which was half way running backwards towards the 1K marker) I was around 4:04 or so. I pushed hard and finished the first rep in 8:08.
I was a little foggy since it was early and I hadn’t had a ton of sleep the night before so I decided not to push it much harder for the next rep.
The next one seemed a bit easier. When I was looking at my watch I caught myself hovering around a 3:50 Min/K pace, which was too fast for this workout. I slowed it up and tried to keep things steady and finished the second rep in 7:49.
The thing is it didn’t feel that I pushed myself much harder. I figured that the route from the 3K to the 1K marker had a more gradual and longer stretch of elevation, while I took advantage of that on the way back as a down hill.
The last rep, as usual, was the hardest and for the final half a KM I was burning in the quads.
Here’s the final splits.
1 – 8:07
2 – 7:49
3 – 7:57
4 – 7:52
5 – 7:58
The odd # intervals were from the 3KM to the 1KM marker and the even ones were from 1KM to 3KM marker (hence the difference in times).
I’m very happy with this workout over all. Besides the first rep, which I was a bit, slow on, I felt the other four were pretty evenly matched in terms of perceived effort, which is what I’m after for this workout.
I think I may switch up to doing all my intervals for at least this 3 week cycle on the trail rather then the track, and pending all goes well I’ll stick with it for the second 3 week cycle before my final race of the season so I can compare results.
We’re expecting really nasty weather where I’m at due to Hurricane Earl coming our way. I have a scheduled day off tomorrow and a long 1.5 hour run on Sunday. I should be able to get that long run in without trouble.
The coming week looks something like this:
Sunday – Long Run 1.5 Hours
Monday – 30 Min Easy
Tuesday – 10K Easy
Wednesday – 6 x 1K
Thursday – Off
Friday – 60 Min Easy
Saturday – Off
Posted on Aug 24, 2010 under Training |
I’ve still been struggling with shin pain, and after last Fridays 5K paced run was no exception. Saturday I intended on taking off, but some work around the house and a little too much hunching over has given my calfs no rest and hence to real time to heal.
I’m basically chalking this week up to a MAJOR mileage reduction before my race this Sunday. I’m going to try and get an easy run in today, tomorrow and Friday. I may turn Friday’s run into the Fartlek session I had originally scheduled. I’ll wait and see how my body feels.
Posted on Aug 20, 2010 under Training |
I had a bit of a running epiphany this week.
I’ve been training myself pretty hard, and truthfully not 100% what for, besides some personal satisfaction I get from running faster times all the time I put into training at the track can really hamper with my work schedule.
So I decided instead of running myself into the ground with 60+ KM weeks (that’s what I had last week, about 64K on the dot a long week compared to what I’m used to), I’m going to back off a bit and go back to my original plan of 4 days a week. I’m also possibly going to start running some of my 1K and 2K intervals on the nicely marked trail near my house.
My goal is get some consistency not race my workouts… and of course break 40 minutes for the 10K by this fall.
I’ve been still struggling with some shin and achilles pain, this has also snapped me back into thinking about reducing mileage and focussing on personal enjoyment and fitness.
OK Too a Workout Update
Tuesday: Took that day off as I was a bit sore and tired from the 6X 1K workout on Monday.
Wednesday: I had a 60 Min easy run on the docket for Wednesday, which I did go for. I made a couple of mistakes how ever.
1.) I tried running it with the inserts back in my shoes which I know I do better without (don’t know why I continue to test things I know are silly)
2.) It was FREAKIN hot.. I mean humidex probably over 30 degress
3.) I had some achilles and shin pain as well and I knew i was going to have to run a bit of it on side walks and pavement
None the less i hit the road, but it was one of the most uncomfortable easy/steady runs I’ve had all year. I ended up stopping to walk twice and a couple of hills I hit damn near killed me.
Thursday: Was a scheduled day off and I needed it after Wednesday’s run.
Friday (Today): was paced run day. I ran this same paced 5K run about a month earlier. I felt pretty strong when I ran it then in 19:36. I did a couple of things today different.
1.) I believe I started from a different line on the track, nothing serious but an extra 10-15M made my first K split a little slower then I would have expected it to be.
2.) I didn’t go right to the track, I came into the office, worked for an hour then went and it was a bit hot out.
3.) I have been feeling a little sluggish this week any ways so I was going for breaking 20 minutes which is the goal of this workout anyways.
After a 1K warm up, stretch and couple of strides I hit the line and just head off.
The first KM didn’t feel too bad, nor did the second, but about mid way through the heat did start to hit me and I was laboring a bit more. Here’s my splits for the run:
1 – 4:02
2 – 3:55
3 – 3:57
4 – 4:02
5 – 3:58
TIme: 19:55
Not a bad outcome, my HR was getting pretty high on the last lap reaching a peak of 190 which is pretty much my max. I think had I have started from the correct line I’d of shaved a couple of seconds off but it’s not a big deal, just a workout.
While it’s about 20 seconds slower then a month ago I don’t think my fitness level has dropped off, it’s just a different day, different conditions etc.
For the weekend and next week approaching my race next Sunday
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 30 min easy
Monday: 600M Intervals @ Track
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: 45 minute easy
Thursday: Off
Friday: 30 min Fartlek 6 X 1 MIn Fast then Slow
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 10 K race
I’m aiming for close to 40 Min for next Sunday’s race. I feel I am in shape to accomplish that.
Posted on Aug 16, 2010 under Training |
This morning I had my second 1000 M interval workout. Last time I had botched the times because I was attempting to use my GPS watch to track my distance without realizing that the larger buildings around the university track block the signal quite a bit, so I wasn’t actually running 1000 M, but about 870-890M.
Today, as I have for my last workouts, I used the measurement of the track, so 2.5 laps = 1000 M.
Today was the first interval set I did with someone else. I ran them with a guy I met at the track who was doing a similar workout, and was aiming for a similar time to me. He did 5 X 1K and I continued on for the final rep alone.
Here’s my results:
#1 3:55
#2 3:55
#3 3:53
#4 3:51
#5 3:55
#6 3:47
In comparison to my previous re-calculated reps these are slower by about 5-10 seconds for each except this time I did six reps not five, and my final once was the quickest, not the slowest.
I’m trying to keep in mind that these aren’t all out workouts.
My shin is a bit sore today, so I will probably skip my scheduled 30 min easy run for tomorrow, but I’ll make that call after I see how my leg feels tomorrow. I don’t want to end up having to take another week off again.
When I tallied up last weeks mileage, it was high. About 60K which is 25 more then what I have been doing on average. This could of course result in shin splints again, so I need to be careful.
Posted on Aug 13, 2010 under Training |
Today I had my long run of 1 hour 30 minutes, I will say while this doesn’t have to be at an amazing pace it’s trying on both form and mental toughness. At about the hour mark I started to really notice the fatigue in my legs and started checking my watch a lot more often. I didn’t have any thoughts about stopping but with the combined heat outside and distance (run was 17.2 KM) it took it’s tole on me.
I took a make shift ice bath when I got home, although I didn’t have the volume of ice required to really make it work how it should have. Think I’m going to build up a supply of ice in the freezer for this sort of thing. (need about 10 gallons of ice to really get it down to the right temperature).
I’ve been doing some thinking and researching about what my future potential is as a road racer. I know I have some issues with my shins and calfs, but with consistent stretching and paying close attention to form I believe I can begin to get away from the tenderness and soreness I struggle with in my shins.
My goal for this year is to break 40 minutes for 10K, which I don’t have any concerns about. My ultimate goal is to come close to 38 minutes or SUB 38 minutes at my final race of the season in October.
With this in mind I look ahead (as I do and get ahead of myself) to next season. I’ll likely do the same races I did this year with another two added into the mix. Could I possibly get my time down further next year closer to the 35 min mark?
The only way to really determine this is to stay healthy, train consistently and race smart.
For the next few days here’s what I have:
Tomorrow (Sat): 30 min easy
Sunday: 10K Easy
Monday: 6 x 1K @ 3:45-3:50 w/ 45 seconds rest on the track
Tuesday: 30 min easy
Wednesday: 60 min easy
Thursday: REST
Friday: Pace 5K on track under 20 min (goal is to break 19:30)
I read an interesting thread today on a site called letsrun.com (here’s the post), what really hit home for me was one of the posters talked about “racing” his training runs and wearing himself out. I tend to do this sometimes, such as earlier this week with my 2000 M session. I need to recognize that there is more then just all out and slow… The sessions I am running have a specific purpose and I should run them at the times suggested rather then pushing my limits..
My results and times will come, rome wasn’t built in a day and pushing too hard will only injure my.
Posted on Aug 11, 2010 under Training |
This morning I headed to the track for the hardest set of intervals I do during my 3 week training regime, 5 X 2000 M or five full laps of the 400 M track.
This session is supposed to be done at close to my goal 10K pace which is sub 40 min so around 3:55 per KM. I said in an earlier post that I wanted to concentrate on quality and not speed, but again today I let my ego and speed get the best of me.
I went out for the first rep in what I felt was a comfortable pace that I would keep for a 10K race. When I hit the lap button on my watch finishing the first set of 5 laps I had just run the 2K in 7:42… about 8 second faster then I should have for that interval.
I took my 1:30 rest and headed out for the second one. this one felt about the same, although the last couple of laps were a bit more labor intensive on my breathing and I felt some lactate in my quads. Hit the lap key, time of 7:45, pretty consistent I felt.
It was at this point I had to hit the wash room for a pee break. I came back out, but instead of 1:30 rest I had taken more then another full minute about 2:35 rest.
I headed right out for my 3rd rep which definitely felt harder then the first two and finished in 7:54, this should have been the pace of the first two as well in retrospect because it was all down hill from here.
The fourth and fifth reps were 8:06 and 8:09 respectively and while I could have pushed the last lap of the final rep I knew I had beaten myself hard enough for one day.
So at the end of the day reps looked like:
Rep 1 7:42
Rep 2 7:45
Rep 3 7:54 ( had a 2:30 break b/w 2 & 3 due to running to the bathroom)
Rep 4 8:06
Rep 5 8:09
What can I take from this workout today?
1 – Don’t go out hard in the first interval, always hold back since I’m fresh and have a lot more to come after the first rep.
2 – Focus on consistency amongst my intervals not speed in a couple then fall off for the final few.
3 – I don’t have to run in my highest gear all the time, there are physiological benefits for me and my fitness by running below my threshold.
Of course this wasn’t a complete waste by any means. This will help improve my lactate threshold, which will improve my speed ability for a longer period of time.
I have an off day tomorrow then my longest run of 90 Minutes on Friday, followed by likely another day off or an easy 30 min run and 10K easy on Sunday. Next Monday I’m at the track again for more intervals, this time 6 X 1K.
After chatting in the forums over at Time-to-run.com I’m going to change things up a bit and aim to do my 1K’s in 3:50 and take only 45 seconds rest rather then 1 minute to try and hold myself to consistency rather then really fast reps that fall off at the end.
Posted on Aug 06, 2010 under Training |
Well I’m back after a 5 day hiatus due to a cold and shin splints. I want to take things slow since shin splints are something I’ve continually battled this entire year. It’s hard to say if it’s my technique, foot strike, over use or what. None the less I want to be healthy for a race I have at the end of the month. I’m hoping to break 40 minutes for the 10K, and I’m on track fitness wise to do it.
The next 3 weeks will be telling for how I’ll fare. I’ve got some key workouts coming up including:
5 X 2K at the track
6 X 1K at the track
5K pace run where I’ll aim for under 19:30
Mixed in with all of that will be a longer run of 1:30 and a few 60 Min runs and 30 min recovery jogs.
Something I’m going to do in the next 3 weeks is pay close attention to form and pace. During my easy and long runs I want to hover around 5:05 – 5:10. That’s fast enough to get the cardio benefit and time on feet. Faster then that and I believe my technique will start going in the crapper.
Also for the interval workouts in each of the next 2 and a half weeks I will try to come in right in my ideal time zone. So for me here are the times I’m aiming for:
2K – 7:50 -8:04
1K – 3:44 – 3:55
The paced run will be more about how I feel that day. I was pleased with the last 5K paced I did at the track in 19:36, it almost beat my PB from earlier this year in the 5K on the road. I think if all goes well and I stay healthy I’ll beat my PB from the race earlier this year on the track alone in a couple of weeks.
Going to take one easy run this weekend, likely Sunday and start with my 3 week routine next week.
So the next few days look like this:
Today – 6 K easy (30 min)
Tomorrow – OFF
Sunday – 30 Min Easy
Monday – 60 Min Easy
Tuesday – 30 Min Easy (5:10+ for pace)
Wednesday – 5 X 2K @ Track
Thursday – Off
Friday – 1.5 Hour Long Run
Saturday – Off
Sunday – 10K Easy run
Monday – 6 X 1K @ Track
Tuesday – Off
Wednesday – 1 Hour Easy Run
Thursday – Off
Friday – 5K Paced Run
This could change of course, but that’s the schedule as it stands right now. I’m upping my mileage a bit from before I was injured which may not be smart, but with the slower pacing I’m hoping to be OK. If I feel discomfort I’ll back off quickly and also eliminate the 30 min easy runs in there.
