13 weeks left to Melbourne....
Monday (time trial):
5k warm up to CCAB track
5000m solo Time Trial in 18:33 (PB)
Lap splits: 87.2, 89.6, 88.9, 89.8, 89.7, 90.0, 91.2
90.9, 90.2, 90.5, 89.9, 87.4, 38.3
Av pace: 3:43 min/km, av HR 177 bpm
6k slow cool down
Total session 16k
After 3 days of not running, I decided to have a crack at my old 5k PB (18.45) from 2006. Based on my recent interval workouts, I thought 18.20 (3:40 pace or 88 per lap) would be a doable target. My plan was to cruise the first half at my old PB pace (90 per lap), then running to the barn in the second half. Unfortunately, 3 days of inactivity made me feel a bit flat (lower blood volume ?). Plus running round and round the track with nobody to chase and nothing at stake also made it a real challenge. With a target of 88 per lap, I only managed to do 2 laps <88 (first and last), with the rest at around 90.
It was a mixed feeling. Always happy to get a PB (12 secs) during training. But on the flip side, I knew that I could run faster than this. I couldn't get out of the 'locked' pace (90 secs per lap) during the middle miles, pushed the pace too late and I felt still have lots left in the tank. Since it wasn't too draining, I might do another TT instead of workouts in the near future. Anyways, Mcmillan equates today's run to 85.45 HM and 3.00.50 marathon.
Tuesday (rest):
OFF. Travel to Jakarta for work
Wednesday (easy):
60mins easy treadmill in Jakarta (av 5.02 min/km)
Thursday (medium run):
75mins moderate workout (av 4:42 min/km)
4k up, 7k MP tempo in 30mins (av 4:17), 4k down
Friday (easy):
60mins easy treadmill (av pace 5:05)
Saturday (rest):
OFF
Sunday (race):
2k warm up
Timex Tri-Run 21.4+ km in 91:02 (3rd Men Open, 5th overall)
Av pace: 4:15 min/km
5k splits: 20:23, 20:58, 21:28, 22:05, 1.4k+ in 6:07
4.6k cool down
Total 28k
Only slept for 3 hours, watched the World Cup 3rd place play-off till 4am and couldn't sleep after that. Tried to take a nap during the cab ride to the race venue, but the driver kept on talking. The route was ridiculous, 3.5k stretch of road and we ran out and back 6 times. In total, there were 12 rises (2 rises in each 3.5k course) and 5 hair-pin turns. The road was cambered too which caused some discomfort in the hips and sole of my foot. Tried to run at around 4.05 min/km and only lasted for about 7k. Then the wheels came off and it was simply a matter survival after that. After one hour, the 10k runners started their race and the 3.5k route became very messy. Passed the 21k in 89:06, so theoretically a sub-90 HM.
Totally disappointed with the race. Maybe the lack of sleep or Monday's 5k TT affected the outcome, but I really gave a hard effort today (close to 90% Max HR). Don't think I can do back-to-back 90mins HM, at least in Singapore conditions. Even after taking 2 salt tablets and 2 gels, I cramped badly during the cool down and also when collecting the prize. A bit embarassed that I laid down in the podium with calf cramps for everyone to see after collecting a Timex watch prize. The only positive thing is that everyone seems to be 2-5 mins slower today.
Summary:
89k for the week with 2 rest days. One good TT (PB) and one shitty race. Five weeks down and only 13 weeks left to the race. This week marks the conclusion of Phase 1 training where speed is the focus (4 weeks) and the beginning of Phase 2 training (5-6 weeks) where the emphasis will move to HM/threshold training. I think today's race showed that I really lacked raw endurance (evidenced by my pace's downward spirals). So far, my long runs were 27, 31, 24, 29, and 28k, so only 1 run above 30k. Other runs were mostly between 30mins to 1 hour. For the 5 weeks, my mileage averaged only around 80k (50 miles), which seems low for a sub-3 wannabe.
Gotta work much harder from now on!
4 comments:
Another PB, that's a couple in a few weeks, well done. That shows you're in good nick especially for the shorter distances and a great sign.
Re the half, I wouldn't be too concerned, you have 3 months to go. If you did this 4 weeks out at 100% that would be a bit different. Trust your training and remember it's all about peaking at the right time.
You're on the right track, keep plugging away, you're endurance will only get better and better.
Congrats on the 5000 PB. It's always going to be hard doing a TT on the track with no competition. In the right race (and cooler), with a good pack, I think you'd run 15-30 secs faster.
I tend to agree the 80k ave is a bit on the low side. Depends on the time you have, but 110-120k weeks would make a sub-3 more certain.
Well done on the 5k PB good to see your last few laps were bringing it home strong, thats a sign of a good TT/race.
I'm a fan of doing the odd TT/race every few weeks, to see how the progress is going, but don't drop your workouts for TT's a;together, thats one of the parts of training where the big gains can come if you persist. Maybe need to up the mileage a bit to make the sub 3 happen, but most important, stay focused mentally, and keep doing the key sessions. Well done also on getting on the podium in the Half. The time might be disappointing, but there is plenty of time to improve on that, and given the lack of sleep and conditions, its tough to do a good time in those circumstances, so all things considered, thats still a very good run, even if a few minutes adrift of the time you need about 4-7weeks before the big one...You only have 4 minutes to trim after the fantastic effort at Seoul, things can change dramatically 1-4 weeks, if you keep at it. sometimes the best progress is made when we feel like we are not getting anywhere...Keep at it.
Sling,
I think you freak out too easily on your splits...
I mean, you are training in Singapore, so it is not point to check the McMillan calculator at each race/workout...
Under the heat, just try to do your workouts based on the effort... the watch must not look great, but you will get your reward once you can run on "normal" weather.
IMO, get your workouts done at a pace that would let you cover the planned distance... splits might look bad, but at 30C it is all hay in the barn...
avoid long tempo runs because they are simply infeasible in 30C... better to go with intervals so you can keep a decent stride/form...
I am quite amazed that nobody has ever made a study on what is the impact of heat on short term and long term training ...
how much to decrease the speed, how much to cut the miles because of difficult recovery.... seems nobody ever worked on that
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