Speed work on a Saturday morning - who'd have though it? Well the person who put together my 10K training schedule did. Hence this morning I was down for "warm up, then 20 mins fast tempo run, but not flat out". Fast tempo but not flat out - so how fast is that? Hmm, well the nice people at FIRST have mid-tempo as 6:41 and short tempo as 6:26 so I guess I should be aiming for the later. 6:26 does sound a bit punchy though - let's see how it goes.
So with target pace numbers swirling round my head I headed out this morning just after eight although it felt much later (possibly because it was already 11 degrees). The master plan was to warm-up down to Harpenden and then run a three-mile route out through Rothampsted Park, over to West Common, and back.
There was drizzle in the air and the wind was dead against me as I headed up through the park. It was hard work and the first mile to Hatching Green took 6:56. Yikes - that's not very good! However, with the elements switching to work in my favour I was then able to cover the second mile in 6:23 for the third in 6:16.
So 6:32 average for the three miles. On the one hand not bad. But on the other probably not quite good enough. And it hurt! I can see this schedule is either going to give me a PB or kill me. I do hope it's the former.
Saturday, 20 March 2010
Thursday, 18 March 2010
5 (Five) Runs, 8 Miles
Not to be out done by 1K Kenny's 4 (Four) Runs, 15.2miles today I completed five runs. Okay so they comprised 1.4-mile warm-up, 2-miles hard, 1-mile recovery, 2-miles hard, and 1.6-mile warm-down. Impressive eh? OK maybe not...
Anyway, having achieved my long-term goal of a sub 1:30 half I've been thinking about what to aim for next. 10K is the obvious target and with an 18-month old PB of 41:24 I think there's scope for improvement. 40 minutes is the time everyone aims for but I'm going to be a bit more realistic and target 40:30. This is nearly 10 seconds per mile faster than my PB and last year the best I could manage was 41:54 so I think I've got my work cut-out.
And then I had to find a race. The first one to spring to mind was the 10K round Whipsnade Animal Park in early June. I was all set to send off my entry when a last-minute check revealed it's the weekend at the end of half-term. I've nothing planned but it's probably best I keep it clear. After a bit more searching through the events section on the Runners World web site I came across The Dorney Dash 10K on Saturday (yes Saturday) 8th May. Flat, fast and boring by all accounts. I can live with 40-odd minutes of boredom in return for a PB.
And to get this PB I'm going to follow the Runners World 8-Week 10K Schedule, 6-7 Days Per Week schedule. So in theory I should have run 35-40 mins light fartlek today. However, I'd already set my heart on doing the two times two-mile session (a favourite in the FIRST training schedules) and didn't fancy changing. I'll substitute the Tuesday speed session with Rockets, but other than that will try to more or less follow the schedule. And the best thing of all us tomorrow is a rest day - hurrah!
Anyway, having achieved my long-term goal of a sub 1:30 half I've been thinking about what to aim for next. 10K is the obvious target and with an 18-month old PB of 41:24 I think there's scope for improvement. 40 minutes is the time everyone aims for but I'm going to be a bit more realistic and target 40:30. This is nearly 10 seconds per mile faster than my PB and last year the best I could manage was 41:54 so I think I've got my work cut-out.
And then I had to find a race. The first one to spring to mind was the 10K round Whipsnade Animal Park in early June. I was all set to send off my entry when a last-minute check revealed it's the weekend at the end of half-term. I've nothing planned but it's probably best I keep it clear. After a bit more searching through the events section on the Runners World web site I came across The Dorney Dash 10K on Saturday (yes Saturday) 8th May. Flat, fast and boring by all accounts. I can live with 40-odd minutes of boredom in return for a PB.
And to get this PB I'm going to follow the Runners World 8-Week 10K Schedule, 6-7 Days Per Week schedule. So in theory I should have run 35-40 mins light fartlek today. However, I'd already set my heart on doing the two times two-mile session (a favourite in the FIRST training schedules) and didn't fancy changing. I'll substitute the Tuesday speed session with Rockets, but other than that will try to more or less follow the schedule. And the best thing of all us tomorrow is a rest day - hurrah!
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Spring has sprung
The sun is out, the sky is blue, there ain't a cloud to spoil the view......
Yes - spring has allegedly sprung. Two digits are required to display the lunchtime temperature and the tube drivers are well advanced with their plans for a summer strike (OK so I made that last bit up but it's probably true).
Fresh from having missed two weeks of Rockets I was looking forward to today's session. So eager, in fact, that I got to the meet point nearly a minute before the 12:35 off. Richard arrived just after and Steve was apparently at the front mixing with the uber elites.
Up at the canal there was much discussion about the session. Martin arrived mid-debate with a huffing and puffing Colin not far behind (not that this seemed to slow him down). Four 1,200s with two-minute recovery seemed to be winning and then just as we set off it changed to four five-minute efforts. My optimistic assumption we'd be sticking with two-minute recoveries proved to be wrong. And Richard's hopes of an extra minute at the turn were cruelly dashed too.
I'd like to think I ran a B minus session today with a still unfit Martin carrying the flag for C runners to the rear. Surprisingly Sarah seemed to be slower than me although she may well be recovering from a weekend race. Richard put in a superb B plus performance - well at least for the first two reps. And Steve - well he was here there and everywhere (especially when I tried to overtake).
Ian made a classic schoolboy error when his work pass slipped from his hand straight into the canal. Really - I'd expect better from a man of his calibre. And apparently he was too much of a pussy to fish it out - call yourself elite?
Yes - spring has allegedly sprung. Two digits are required to display the lunchtime temperature and the tube drivers are well advanced with their plans for a summer strike (OK so I made that last bit up but it's probably true).
Fresh from having missed two weeks of Rockets I was looking forward to today's session. So eager, in fact, that I got to the meet point nearly a minute before the 12:35 off. Richard arrived just after and Steve was apparently at the front mixing with the uber elites.
Up at the canal there was much discussion about the session. Martin arrived mid-debate with a huffing and puffing Colin not far behind (not that this seemed to slow him down). Four 1,200s with two-minute recovery seemed to be winning and then just as we set off it changed to four five-minute efforts. My optimistic assumption we'd be sticking with two-minute recoveries proved to be wrong. And Richard's hopes of an extra minute at the turn were cruelly dashed too.
I'd like to think I ran a B minus session today with a still unfit Martin carrying the flag for C runners to the rear. Surprisingly Sarah seemed to be slower than me although she may well be recovering from a weekend race. Richard put in a superb B plus performance - well at least for the first two reps. And Steve - well he was here there and everywhere (especially when I tried to overtake).
Ian made a classic schoolboy error when his work pass slipped from his hand straight into the canal. Really - I'd expect better from a man of his calibre. And apparently he was too much of a pussy to fish it out - call yourself elite?
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