Week 4 of 5 to AHM

Did 80k in 6.5 hours (av 4:50) during Week 4 of 5 to Army Half

Good week, but both body and legs are damn tired. Looking forward to a break from running after next weekends’ HM. Since the GC marathon, I ran 45, 80, 73, 83, 80 km weeks and next week (taper) probably will total 70k including the race.

This week I only had the time to do two morning runs (Friday & Sunday). The rest was during lunch time, either on treadmill or outdoor where it is normally blazing hot. Accordingly, I couldn’t afford to do high volume (due to time constraint, office lunch time) nor high intensity (due to the heat). This means that I really need to capitalize on the morning runs by doing solid workouts whenever I have a chance.

This week, I also experimented with fartlek-type work: a mixture of tempo/intervals on Tuesday, tempo/fartlek on Friday, and progression run with pick-ups on Sunday. So far, I enjoyed them and they are definitely more fun than the structured workouts (e.g. 6x1000, 8k tempo etc). It'a welcome chance and probably I will incorporate them more often in the months ahead.

Next week, I have a 3-day seminar at work which might limit my running. On a hindsight, this might be good since mind and body are tired anyway after along season. No PB expectation for the race. I would be happy with anything around 90mins and definitely looking forward to a well-earned rest after the race.

Mon (Easy):
AM: 6.5k Easy in 34mins (av 5:14), treadmill
PM: Massage
Squeezed in a short run in the gym before massage. Easy pace from 5:45 to 4:50 min/km, with last 1k at 8% incline. The massage hurt, especially around hammy and ITB.

Tue (Intervals + Tempo):
12k run in 55mins (av 4:35) including:
- 2 x 1000m at 10k effort – 3:51, 3:51
- 4k Tempo at MP, av 4:22 (vs plan of 6k at HMP)
- 2 x 1000m at 10k effort – 3:54, 3:50

Ran during lunch time at 36c heat index. Tried a new workout combining intervals and tempo. My original intent was to do the 1k intervals at 10k effort and the 6k tempo at HM effort, but I just didn’t have it out there. Struggled during the tempo and had to slow down to MP and this effort felt hard too. I just don’t know how on earth I could run 42k at this pace in Gold Coast last month.

Wed (Easy):
9.5k Recovery in 51mins (av 5:24), treadmill

Thu (Easy):
14k Easy in 70mins (av 5:02)
Another lunchtime run, 38c heat index with bad air quality from forest fire in Sumatra. Ran from office to Mt Fabre via Morse Rd and did the undulating loop 5 times. After that, things went sour as the heat got the better of me. Planned to do 90-100mins, but I decided to cut it short to 70mins. A runner died last weekend in Malaysia due to dehydration after completing a HM.

Fri (Tempo + Fartlek):
AM: 16k run in 72mins (av 4:28) including:
- 8k Tempo in 32:48 (4:06), av HR 166, high HR 175
- 15mins modified Mono-fartlek (3.6k, av 4:11)

First morning run of the week and the temperature certainly makes a lot of difference. HR was pretty low and in retrospective, should have extended the tempo to 10k to familiarize the body for next week’s HM. After 3mins break, did an abbreviated Mono-fartlek (2x90s, 2x60s, 3x30s, 4x15s). Only managed to do the float recovery (~4:30 min/km) for the first 3 fast segments and after that, I just couldn’t keep up and reverted to easy jog. Covered 3.6k in 15mins, av 4:11 as compared to 5k-ish in a standard 20mins fartlek on fresh legs.

PM: 1-hour XT (lunges, squats, abs)

Sat (Off):
Rest

Sun (Long Run):
22k run in 104mins (av 4:45)
Progression run, starting at easy pace, ending at around MP effort. 10mins @ 5:18, 5:05, 4:58, 4:54, 4:45, 4:40, 4:35, 4:30, 4:25 (total 90mins). Finished with 6 x 45secs pick-ups at around HM effort, 45secs jog and cool down. The first hour of the route was undulanting, the rest flat terrain. Tired.

Total 80k for the week