03 May 2008

Good signs

A good week with two speed workouts and a medium long run.

The highlight of the week was Thursday workout on a very cool, low humidity day for Singapore standard. Did a 5k LT tempo run on the track in 19:46 at av HR of 174 bpm and high HR of 187. This is much better than my last tempo run in 20:20 three weeks ago with av HR 176 and high HR 189 bpm. So about 2bpm lower but at faster pace (~34 secs faster), underpinned by cool weather and perhaps some fitness gain. In fact, the av HR from Thursday was almost comparable to the HR data from my tempo runs in Perth.

After the tempo run, I did 4 x 200m and for the first time did a couple in 36 secs (i.e. 3:00 min/km). Seems that my recent diet of hill reps and 200m reps which I did at the end of tempo/interval sessions have improved my basic speed. Now if I can only continue running at that pace for another 42k !! lol

Anyway, this week training is as follows:

Monday:
AM: 20 mins jogging on grass (av pace 5:57)
PM: 30 mins recovery on treadmill (av 5:30)

Tuesday:

AM: Hill Workout
15 mins warm up
3 x ~840m at Fort Canning Hill . Splits: 3:19, 3:22, 3:21, jog return in 5:00
5 x 170m hill (00:38, 38, 39, 38, 38), walk/jog rcovery
10 mins cool down

Tried something different as an alternative to track running. Ran from the bottom to the Fort gate - which is around 840m. The first 100m is flat, next 100m uphill (3-4% grade), next 200m flat/downhill, next 200m steep uphill (5-6% grade), last 200m gentle uphill (1-2%). Not sure whether the physiological stimulus is enough since only 10 mins of hard running were accumulated during the 3x800 but hopefully there is some neuro-muscular strength to gain. A good cardio/strength workout, will try to do 4 intervals next time.

PM: ~40 mins jogging with work colleagues to Labrador Park (av pace 5:49)

Wednesday:
AM: 10 mins shakeout on grass - too hot
PM: 38 mins recovery on treadmill (av 5:26) + stretching

Thursday:

AM: LT/Speed Workout (track)
2k warm up incl strides
5k LT Tempo Run in 19:46 (av pace 3:57), av HR 174, highest 187 bpm
800m jog + rest
4 x 200m reps with 200m jog. Splits: 00:38, 36, 39, 36
800m jog + rest
800m fast in 2:56
4k cool down, total 15k in 70 mins

Very nice weather for running, cool and surprsingly low humidity. Splits for the tempo run (per 400m): 1:34/145, 1:37/166, 1:36/168, 1:36/170, 1:36/172, 1:35/174, 1:36/176, 1:36/178, 1:35/180, 1:36/181, 1:35/183, 1:35/183, 00:39/186. The tempo pace was actually steady at 4:00 min/km, but a strong final kick in last 200m (savings 10 secs) skewed the total time a bit. First time doing 200s in 36 secs.

PM: Pilates class + weights

Friday:
35 mins recovery on treadmill (av 5:40) + stretching

Saturday:
AM: 80 mins easy on bike path (av pace 4:56) - sluggish
PM: 30mins easy on pavement (av pace 5:03) - humid

Total 78k for the week, 1190k for the year

3 comments:

Clown said...

Great effort with the tempo run, look as though you are in great shape. I think you should def give the 5000m track race a go.

Robert Song said...

Regarding your comment on Avg HR.

All the HRs I mention are Avg rather than finishing HR.

For most of my base training, avg Hr is a good indicator. I try for an even HR through out the run, so there is rarely much variation over the whole session.

It is a little different when going at faster than aerobic pace where you would certainly expect the HR to drift up the longer you run. I am not to concerned about HR in these training situations.

I must say I wouldn't want to be training for a marathon in Singapore. I find summer here in Brisbane bad enough.

Ewen said...

Hi SR, saw your comment on RS's blog...

I like the AHR as a way to compare training runs. When you think about it, the heart has to beat x number of times during the run, which produces the time of the run, and average pace.

For comparison purposes, you need to run on the same course/distance and have similar weather (heat, humidity, wind). For example, if I run at an AHR of 140, that might produce a pace of 5:20/km on a hilly course and 5:10/km on a flat one.

I like RS's method - just run the whole course close to the AHR you're aiming for. If you're aerobically fit, and it's not stinking hot/humid, you won't slow down much. The other method is to run at a set pace, and after the initial 'warming up' kms, the HR shouldn't rise too much during the run (provided the set pace is below lactate threshold!).