I was still a bit sore yesterday, probably from Tuesday's hill sprints, and initially I was excruciatingly slow. When it took over 9 minutes for the first mile I thought that I must be in the middle of an involuntary slow-running week, but after another mile I started to accelerate, even without any noticeable increase in effort. I felt better the longer the run went on, and by the time I got home I had cruised to an average pace of close to 8:00. Even though I really don't want to push myself hard on those easy days, I was still pleased to see the pace come down from the initial sluggishness.
Another fartlek run was on the menu today, and just like the hill sprints they are starting to get serious. I still don't quite know what pace I should run them in; I had hoped Saturday's race would give me a proper 10k time to gauge my fitness level, but that didn't happen. I think running the fast bits at about 5:40 pace is what I should be aiming for. Of course, those bits don't last long enough to get some usable feedback from the Garmin as regards to pace, so I end up running them purely by feel, and can check afterwards if I did ok or not. Today's speed sections featured paces ranging from 5:21 to 6:00, but since I ran them over fairly undulating terrain that was more a direct reflection of the up-and downhill nature of the course, and not a sign of an uneven effort. The average pace was pretty much exactly 5:40, which is what I was aiming for anyway. After being so slow during Tuesday's hill sprints I was relieved to see that I was able to hit the right pace. I'm still amazed just how much tougher the hill sprints are in comparison to the fartlek workouts. Don't get me wrong – of course I know that sprinting up a hill is harder than doing the same thing on a flattish piece of road. I just didn't realise how much harder.
Maia has gotten a new boyfriend. Our next door neighbours had a baby boy a few days ago, and our kids are all very excited about having yet another friend to play with, in good time. They (the neighbours, that is, not our kids) had been trying for a baby for a long time, and she had quite a few scares during the pregnancy, so we're all delighted with the happy outcome. As you can see in the photo, Maia has learned a new skill to celebrate the new arrival. That girl will be walking soon, and she's only just 8 months old! She'll be overtaking Daddy on his training runs soon.- 2 Jul
- 6 miles, 48:35. 8:06 pace, HR 143
- 3 Jul
- 7.1 miles, 54:29, 7:40 pace, HR 157
incl. 8x45 secs @ 5:40 pace average
So what were the fast bits and how many did you do? When I do fartlek it works better to have a plan of attach or I end up doing very little.
ReplyDeleteHI THOMAS, no i was not joking about the HEALUS PROTOTYPE SHOE, though I can see where your coming from! I am always looking for something that can give me an edge when it comes to racing!
ReplyDeleteFirst impressions on the shoe;well to be fair the shoe i have is for high mileage use weighing 400g,It does feel like i am running along on a giant piece of rubber, they do reduce shock impact, and you feel like your bouncing along,remember zebadie from the magic roundabout!
Anyway i tried running 2x 1/2 mile to see if I could run faster; result I ran the same times as in normal trainers! mmmmm! I would like to get hold of a pair of his light weight racing shoes though, MY VERDICT ON THESE SHOES, RIGHT NOW THE JUDGE IS OUT OF THE BUILDING, so to speak!
P.S. DID YOU EVER SEE THE CHANNEL 4 DOCUMENTARY ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO, ABOUT A DESIGNER FROM NIKE WHO PUT A STEAL SPRUNG PLATE INTO A RUNNING SHOE WHICH GAVE THE RUNNER MORE FORWARD THRUST AND INCREASED SPEED! THE PROTOTYPE SHOE WAS GIVING VERY GOOD RESULTS AND LOOKED LIKE A GOOD IDEA BUT THE SHOE NEVER MADE IT INTO THE SHOPS.
ReplyDeleteJUST THINK ABOUT THE FORCE WITH WHICH YOUR FOOT HITS THE GROUND, SURELY THERE MUST BE THE TECHNOLOGY TO USE SOME OF THAT ENERGY AND TRANSFER IT INTO FORWARD MOTION, RUNNING SHOES DON'T SEEMED TO HAVE IMPROVED MUCH SINCE I STARTED RUNNING BACK IN 93!