Tuesday, June 28, 2011

6x400 with 400 easy recovery

Supposed to do these with 3:40 pace - each one to take 1min30. And the recovery at 5min10 pace. I jogged slower in the recoveries, and did the speed much better than recent efforts:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/95348698

All were at or just under 1min30 for 400 metres. That is pretty much spot on what I am aiming for. So I have the speed in me but need the discipline and fitness to be able to run the recoveries at 5min10 and follow on each speed run. I am confident that in three months I will do these runs reasonably easily if I remain fit, and avoid injuries.

Two more runs before the GC Marathon. 5km at MP(4min30) and a 10x30 Thursday. Friday and Saturday no running at all.

Monday, June 27, 2011

1 hr 30 - Last long run before GC Marathon

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/95194614

This was the last long run I had planned before the Gold Coast Marathon. Did it really slow and easy with Christine. Strangely I felt great all the way, feeling like I could run for hours. But when I stopped and got home, I felt really flat and tired. And legs, feet were _really_ sore. Odd.

Writing this the next day I feel ok, but I managed to bash my left heel (The relatively good one) twice tonight. They are really sensitive. But I don't have any problems walking so I will cary on. Pain is moderate to nonexistent whilst running.

Three more runs to go, a fast 6x400 tomorrow, a 5km at MP ( where my ultimate marathon pace is 4min30) Wednesday, and a 10x30sec speed on Thursday.

Friday, June 24, 2011

3km easy, 5km ST, 2km easy

News: Updated the Google Calendar so all my runs for the next three months are there.

In addition to this run I did today, I also did a 55min slow run with Christine on Wednesday:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/94084884

Todays run :

3km easy http://connect.garmin.com/activity/94416024. Ran with Christine, doing th 6x2min speed. So slightly faster than 'easy' in reality. But a good warm up.

5km ST http://connect.garmin.com/activity/94416029, where ST = 4min10 pace. I mnaged it little better than I have done recently, but still not doing it properly. Rested between.

The run home was a little less that 2km but done easy http://connect.garmin.com/activity/94416036

I have the Gold Coast Marathon in 8 days, so I really should be running just a little easier so as to gt some sort of recovery and taper. But the reality is I think I hav not actually worked hard enough for a taper to help me significantly. I am trying to use this GC Marathon as a kick start to the training for Melbourne race in October.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

5x1km @3min47 pace HAH again

I attempted another speed run - this time 5x1km at prescribed pace 3min47. Failed dismally. Was supposed to jog at 5:10 pace in recovery for 400metres. Hah again ;)

Warm up:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/93866280

The run:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/93866287

Warm down:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/93866289

Just over 10km overall distance. Paces in the speed run were better than recent efforts. So I am improving. Heals are good.

Monday, June 20, 2011

2hrs with MAX and Christine

Did about 45min with our dog MAX, then dropped him off. Then ran another 1hr18 and covered about 13km. Not a bad pace compared to the usual Christine and I have been doing. Christine is capable of going much faster now, which is a good sign.

We have pretty much decided 6min20 pace is what we are aiming for at the Gold Coast Marathon. Then see if we can pick up the pace in the last 10km or so. I have no doubt that we will finish.

My heels were really bad after the run yesterday. All day and night. Took an over the counter anti inflammatory, and kept my feet up. This morning they were ok.

First 7.9km at about 6min13 pace:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/93470960

The last 13km at 5min51 pace ( I did a few faster ones):
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/93470983

Friday, June 17, 2011

8km at MT pace - 4min20 HAH again

The warmup with Christine:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/92871715

The above was Christines fastest ever 15minute effort, at near enogh to 5min/km. I used it as my warm up, and I think it was a bit too fast for that. Sucked a bit of energy out of me for my key run I had to do today.

The 8km MT pace run:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/92871723

Again I failed dismally to match the pace I aimed for. And again it will be very interesting to see what I am able to do three months from now when I am in the last few weeks of training for the Melbourne Marathon. I should be nailing these runs easily if all goes well.

Instead of doing the sustained 4min20 all the way I tanks at only about 2km or so, and rested a bit. Then I decided that I wanted to work my legs some more and played around with speed.

What I really need to do is get some decent long runs at 5min pace or better. That is what gets me the endurance to run faster.. At least that was how it worked last year. Running with Christine on the long runs at such a slow pace was good for me, I know that for certain. Its allowed me to get some mileage without wrecking my self. But I need to go faster.

For this run I decided to mix it up a little - Ran for count of 20 fast ( one and two and etc..) then same for running slow. I may be doing a little too much for the ideal preparation for the GC Marathon in about two weeks but I am not that focussed on a good performance. What I want to do is be there for Christine and help her finish. Not that I think I am actually needed, she could do it on her own :)

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

8x800 @ 3:41 pace

No where near the goal pace I have set myself for this run. I am supposed to go for 800 metres at 3min40 or so, and finish at a little better than 3 minutes per 800. I did the first @3min55 and staggered for the rest of them. And my rest period of 400 metres was supposed to be easy pace @ 5min10 or a little better. I had to walk for part of the rest period.

This training system I have chosen is going to be pretty hard, and will no doubt push me and hopefully improve my speed.

For the three weeks left until the GC Marathon - where I am aiming to run with Christine and do about 4hr30, I am doing a dressed rehearsal of the last three weeks of a 16 week program I have adapted from the FIRST training plans. I will be using the plan to prepare for the Melbourne Marathon on 9 October, so it will be a very interesting comparison 16 weeks from now to see how I do the same 8x800's with three weeks to go for the Melbourne Marathon.

Warm up http://connect.garmin.com/activity/92472569
8x800 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/92472577
Warm Down http://connect.garmin.com/activity/92472585

I _felt_ it today, and ended up doing a total of just over 14km's this morning.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Summary of contributing runs since May this year

Not many runs to report as I have been doing a limited number of them. I have increased to 3- 4 runs a week now, and here are the significant ones:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/84667414 May 1st 2011, average pace 6min43/km
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/90178221 12km first part of a 34km run Christine and I did June 5
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/90178228 22km second part of the 34km run. Averaged 6min25 for this one, and 6min33 for the first one.. The fact I pulled up ok ( it did hurt and it was hard ) is a good sign considering the limited km's I have done..

I attempted one of the tempo style runs that my training plan specifies:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/91715526

The plan for this run was to do 4min30 for 11km.. I managed the first 8 at that pace, but dropped off, and ended up with 4min38 average. I have fairly lofty goals this year for the Mel Marathon and intense training is what is needed to get me there. Many more runs like this to come, and at longer distances too. Looking forward to it.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/91715553 The latest 2hr30 I did with Christine. The pace is significantly faster now for her. The last few km's done faster than her previous best 3km TT :) Wow...

I may well be back to full health -

After suffering from what was called 'Achilles Insertion Tendonopathy' since around August/September 2010, having two rounds of 8 weeks completely off running ( none, zilch zero ) and trying to return to full training mode, it appears I may well be back now.

I have been running only 2 days a week for a few months, doing long runs with Christine ( she is preparing for her first Marathon at Gold Coast 2011 this year), as well as running her speed and interval sessions with her. I have pretty much been assisting her in finding her paces. Christines' progress is nothing short of amazing, we did a 3km TT some months ago, and she could not do any better than 6min/km pace. Now she is knocking off 5min30/5min40's for the last 4km of a 24km run !!

Anyway, I have been running really slow compared to my usual paces, getting plenty of recovery and taking care of my feet. Christine has in fact 'taught' me how to run slow. It was something I have not felt at all comfortable doing. I always feel better running at 5min30 or better pace, but I have 'learned' to run at 6min20 pace or slower...

I have increased training a little, adding a third day and occasionally running a mid week long run. The sign that I feel my heels are getting better is that after a 34km and a 24km long run I was walking with no pain the next day. I am not completely pain free during the runs, but am feeling significantly better. The best I have felt in nearly a year in fact.

So, I have finally committed to doing the Gold Coast Marathon with Christine, will do about 4hr30 or so. I am personally hoping for a faster time as I don' like the thought of running for 4 hours 30 minutes, especially considering the amount of training I have managed :)

I am expecting that I will survive that effort ok, it will be hard but the pace I expect should mean I will do it ok - Again the pace is going to be quite slow compared to what I expect of myself. I will use the GC Marathon as a long run in the lead up to my Melbourne Marathon on 9 October.

I have a rather complex training plan based on the FIRST methodology. Something I find interesting is that the intensity of many of the runs I did last year in training is the _same_ as what the FIRST training paces recommend. I will be reviewing an finalising the training calendar soon. And will record all my training runs from now on !!