Targeting a Time Trial

Tuesday's track workout hit me like a load of bricks.  The volume was relatively low but the intensity was high.  I'm kind of surprised at the effect to be honest.  I've got some aches and pains that I haven't felt since about a year ago when I first really started training.  Not sure if it was the effect of the one workout or a cumulative effect from a couple weeks of hard workouts.

Wednesday I took it easy and ran 7.14 miles at 8:24 pace (1:00:05 total duration).

Today, I felt a bit more recovered and did 7.01 miles at an average of 7:53 pace.  I ran the first 4 miles at ~8:14 pace.  Then picked it up for a 7:44, 7:40. 6:55 finish.  The last mile include 5X surges at a stride effort.  Maybe about 50 meters a piece?  I was going to do strides but settled on doing these surges instead.  

Legs are still pretty tired though and I'm far from tapered.  I plan to do about 4 miles tomorrow at true recovery effort so hopefully with Wednesday and Thursday being easy days and Friday being recovery, I'll be in position to at least put forth a respectable effort on Saturday for my 5K time trial.

Target is to break 19 minutes (again).  I'd think this should be pretty easy to do, but you never know.

Track Workout 3

Last Tuesday was supposed to be my last track workout for a while.  My plan was to taper this week, run the Brimfield Old Settlers Day virtual 5K as a time trail with the goal of breaking 19 minutes to benchmark my year of progress, then revert back to base training mode.

The a couple things happened that made me modify my plans:

• Last Thursday I unceremoniously broke 19 minutes for a 5K during a training run
• A local 3 mile in person race was announced for Labor day

So a new plan emerged.  Train through the virtual 5K and taper for the labor day race.  That gives me a solid 5-6 week race specific build up that should really optimize my performance.

So today I headed to the track for another workout.  With the virtual 5K this week I wanted to put in slightly less work than last week so I settled on a two sets of 400, 400, 800 with 200, 200, 400 recovery.  With 3200 meters of hard effort (vs 5000 m last week) I pushed the pace past the ~6 minute miles that I'd previously been targeting... probably would say I ran these at 3K pace rather then 5K pace.

This workout felt great.  I really had to push to hold pace and I could really feel the burn in my legs.  Even a couple hours later my legs feel better worked than previous workouts.  Really exhilarating stuff.  I'm also surprised how easy these shorter workouts are vs my longer steady state runs.  I guess maybe I'm just geared for these short hard efforts as I don't fear or dread them at all.

Wound up with 5 miles at 6:57 pace including the warmup jog to the track and cooldown home.

Funny enough I also, dropped a 20:10 5K somewhere in the middle of it (which would have been a 5K PR less than a month ago) and a handful of other Strava achievements.

Week 32 in Review

Week 32 was a really nice training week.  I had a lot of fun but don't feel like I over did it and I still got 48 miles in.  

The week included a 13.28 mile long run, 5X800+1000m at 6 min pace at the track., a 5K time trail where I broke 19 for the first time, a spontaneous 8 mile progression run at 7:30 pace (because I felt so good 2 days after the time trial).

Then started out Week 33 with a solid 12.69 mile run.

A couple weeks ago my motivation was waning a bit but right now its back full force.  Ebbs and flows baby!

Yearly goal progress:

GOALS:

1.  2020 (or 1560) miles run:  1334.87  for the year (103 miles ahead of 2020 pace).  

2.  5000 Pull ups: 3083 (37 ahead pace) got back ahead on my pullups again... 5000 for the year seems about ideal

3.  5000 Pushups/Bench:   (37 behind pace)… Still behind here but almost caught up

4.  50 hour stationary bike:  25:51 hours... I quit biking.  Need some serious catchup.  I just have been enjoying the running so much more.

5.  12500 Steps a day:  Haven't screwed this one up yet

6. Diet... I've gained a lb or 2?  Stop making cookies Natalie!!!

7. 10 races in a year... I signed up for a race on Labor Day!  

MONTHLY GOAL:  309k in August... right now I'm at 69 miles (111km) which is just about right on pace.  

A new 5K (PR?!?)... best estimated effort

July 4th, 2010 I ran my adult 5K PR of 19:18 (6:12 pace). Today, I finally bested that mark.  

I started with a 1.25 mile warmup.  Then some stretching.  I was nervous and excited and did a good job simulating a pre-race warmup/hype up.

My intent today was a fast paced 5K tempo run workout with the goal of breaking 20 minutes.  Of course, once I put the Vaporfly's on, all bets were off.

I gathered up my muster and took off, starting way too fast.  I ran about 1/4 mile at 5:45 pace, caught myself and consciously slowed it down a bit.  I hovered around 6-6:05 pace for the rest of the 1st mile and hit the split at 5:58.  

Mile 2 has the hills.  2 steep climbs that really push the heart rate.  I've been using this course for my time trials because I'm a glutton for punishment and also because I figure I'll be theoretically faster and it will feel easier when I run a fast course and also because a tough 2nd mile in training would set me up well going into the 3rd mile to simulate race conditions.  I hit this split at 6:19, a personal best for this segment.  Strava gave that a Grade Adjusted Pace of 6:01 for what that's worth.

Going into mile 3 I was hurting a bit but not too bad.  I just tried to hold effort while trying to stay relaxed, never really truly hurting.  I started to pick it up around the 2.6 mile point and dropped back below 6:00 pace, averaging 6:07 for the third mile.  

I hit the 3 mile point at 18:24 and then really picked it up for the last .1 miles to try to squeeze under 19:00 for the 5K.  I averaged 5:11 pace for the final .1 and it wasn't even really a full sprint.  

I finished at 19:01 for a GPS measured 3.12 miles.  

Final stats:

3.12 miles

19:01

6:05.7 pace

Wound up with a estimated 5K of 18:56 and a best 2 mile and 1 mile effort to boot.  

I finished with a bit more in the tank although my stomach is hurting a bit now so that tells me it was a high effort... I'd estimate 95%... we'll try it again at the end of next week with increased effort and a taper.  Need to probably start off a bit more under control.

I ran a 2.29 mile cooldown to wrap up the day.

Had some new "achievements" as well.  Finally got the 1K and 1 mile down a bit since Dec 31.  Looks like I can run a 6 minute mile and not totally crash and burn now vs what happened back in December.

Back to the track (again)

Second week with a Tuesday trackwork out as a briefly tune up for a 5K time trial next week.  This workout went waaayyyy better than last week.  

A few notes:  

• last week I felt like I was dying after my 3rd 800... this week I felt way better and probably could have kept going after my 6st interval.  
• My HR was pretty consistent and never really got too high... my aerobic conditioning definitely exceeds my anaerobic which makes sense based on my training
• Huge improvement over last weeks effort... I wonder how things would shake out after a 6-12 week 5K specific training block?  I'd imagine I could get a decent amount faster.

Strava was impressed by my efforts as well:

I was sort of gunning for that 1K PR and ran a bit past the 1000m mark on the last interval to make sure I didn't come up short due to GPS error.

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In other news, I've been slacking on my blogging lately... mostly just recovering/catching up from vacation...

I've slightly dropped the mileage to 40+ per week the last few weeks and have done a bit of speedwork in preparation for a 5K time trial.  Feel pretty good...  I have one more tempo workout planned and then a short taper.  Then plan to get back to 50+ miles mid August.  I'm mostly injury free except I have some pain in my left foot that I'm sort of concerned might be a stress fracture.  It doesn't bother me when running really except for occasionally... kind of weird.  I've had it a couple months now so it's not exactly going away.  I want to get through August and then might need to get it checked out if it hasn't improved or gets worse.

Now, it's time for a summary update of my yearly goals:

Yearly goal progress:

GOALS:

1.  2020 (or 1560) miles run:  1293.65 for the year (96 miles ahead of 2020 pace).  

2.  5000 Pull ups: 2960  (4 behind pace) Been catching up from my vacation but have been killing the pullups lately.  Sets of 16 and 12 at the minimum... did a set of 20 straight chin-ups with no rest 

3.  5000 Pushups/Bench:  2867 (97 behind pace)… Behind here a bit but not worried.  Should be able to catch up quickly with an extra workout this week.

4.  50 hour stationary bike:  25:51 hours... I have not biked since the end of June... the extra running had taken it out of me and I'm also running 6 days a week and really seems like resting is good for the 7th day.  My only hope here would be to take a planned break from running at some point for a couple weeks to let my legs fully recover and supplement with biking. 

5.  12500 Steps a day:  Haven't screwed this one up yet

6. Diet... I haven't dieted at all but the weight is still slowly coming off.  Would like to keep losing down to 160 without any additional effort, just by trying to eat decent and tons of exercise.  It's worked so far at about a lb a month...  we'll re-evaluate in January...  then if I ever get a target race I might put some extra focus in to get down to a leaner "race weight"

7. 10 races in a year... I gave up on this one for a while but now I'm counting my 3 months of 309K challenges... plus I signed up for the Brimfield Old Settlers day virtual run.... that will get me to 5 for the year.  There have been a handful of in person races happening in the area.  I might wind up doing one or two in the fall if it works out.  Probably won't get 10 but all is not lost.  

MONTHLY GOAL:  309k in July was completed.  Finished up the month with 200.59 miles for back to back 200+ mile months.  Signed up for the third and final challenge in August... 309K more for the month... so far I'm at 44km for the month.

Back from altitude training

I spent the last week in the mountains of New Mexico at 7500 feet.  I ran 40.63 miles at an average pace of 8:56 and gained over 3000 feet of elevation in the process.  The thin air was hard on the breathing and the climbing and descents were hard on the legs.  The first 2 days were miserable and I was huffing for breath like when I had just started running.  By the end the breathing was better but my pace was pretty steady.  I mostly just tried to enjoy myself.

We drove through the night on Friday and got home early Saturday.  After sleeping all day Saturday I was ready for a long run on Sunday.  10 miles at 7:42 pace.  It was hot and humid (84 degrees).  The heat seemed worse than the altitude.  My HR hit 180 at the end of the run which is the highest its been since I started running with a HR monitor again.  On the way home I stopped at Jubilee park and did a 1/2 mile down and up a 13% grade hill to keep with my elevation gain theme.

After Monday off, I ran my first track workout today.  3X800 plus 2 X 400 with 400 recovery jogs.

Splits
2:50
2:59
2:56
1:30
1:25

I was not really that pumped for the workout and it was a bit of a struggle.  My breathing was labored and my legs felt pretty dead.  Strava thought it was a good effort though and looking back my HR stayed pretty low never getting over 170 until the very end of the last 400.  I think I'm just a bit tired from my vacation still and maybe am just not accustomed to this type of effort?

Is sub 7 minute pace losing it's luster?

April 23rd was my first steady state training run under 7 minute pace (9.34 miles at 6:56 pace) .  It was a hard effort, a real struggle, but also elating.  My average HR was 158.  I called it the workout of the year.

Today I ran 8 miles at 6:57 pace.  The weather was warmer but my average heart rate was 152.  It was a solid effort but not a struggle at all.  My mind wandered off for the 4th mile and I ran a 7:18.  Most of the other miles were just around 7 minute pace +/- a few seconds...  I dropped a 6:19 final mile and a 3:00 final 1/2 mile to make sure I got under 7.  That was hard running but still not a struggle.

Final stats:

8.01
55:42
6:57 pace
Avg HR 152 (Max 171)

I did not consider this my workout of the year.  But in a year where consistency is the goal, I'll take it.  6:5X pace may not impress me any more but these workouts are making me stronger and faster.  Hope to see 6:4X pace come fall.