Monday, January 31, 2005
New training program
As mentioned in my last post, I have moved to a new program starting this week. let's see how it goes:
Monday 24th January 2005, 12:15pm
10km easy, 44.11, Ave HR 146
After a tough weekend, this was always going to be a struggle, but ran within myself, although not as easily as usual.
Tuesday 25th January 2005, 7:30am
15km - 4x5 minutes hard, 2 min recov., 20 min WU/CD
A tough session, as I ran on grass that undulated, so had to work a bit harder. Was managing 2 laps of Loretto, which some claim to be 800m a lap, but I think 750m might have been closer to the mark. Still, 1500m in 5 minutes is nothing to complain about. really had to hang on for the last one, but that's what this sort of training is for.
Wednesday 26th January 2005, 7.30am
16km easy, 1:11.10, Ave HR 151 bpm
Yesterdays session left me a bit flat, but this was a fairly good run anyway.
Thursday 27th January 2005, 7:30am
10km, w/ 6km tempo, 39.47, Ave HR 151
Really flew through the tempo section - sub 3:40/km. Felt fantastic, a great session. Nice to run a sub 40 10km in training!
Friday 28th January 2005
Off
Achillles was a bit sore, so I took a rest day today, although I was jumping out of my skin to train.
Saturday 29th January 2005, 8:00am
8 x 1min on/1 min off.
20 min WU/CD
Was off-colour before my run, but thought nothing of it. First intervals way too fast - almost 400m. Dropped back pace, and finished session OK, although wasn't blown away by my performance (had to break interval 7 into 2x30 seconds).
Sunday 29th January 2005
Off
Got back from Saturday's run, and promptly put myself to bed. Got up to take my wife out to dinner for her birthday, and then spent the next 36 hours flat on my back with severe gastro. I have never been knocked about like this ever! I think it had already started before my interval session yesterday, and that is what took the physical toll on me (although the three glasses of wine and the tempura tuna and slow roasted pork belly might have been contributing factors :->). Frustrating not to be able to do the full program for the week, but these things happen.
All in all, despite the end of week illness, I was really happy with the new program. Only walked the recoveries of my intervals, and I will focus on improving the pace of the recoveries before upping the speed over the next few weeks. Am planning to do a 5km race late February, and another mid March to gauge the impact of my program.
Week summary:
Runs: 5
Distance: 66 km
Time: 4 hours, 38 minutes
Monday 24th January 2005, 12:15pm
10km easy, 44.11, Ave HR 146
After a tough weekend, this was always going to be a struggle, but ran within myself, although not as easily as usual.
Tuesday 25th January 2005, 7:30am
15km - 4x5 minutes hard, 2 min recov., 20 min WU/CD
A tough session, as I ran on grass that undulated, so had to work a bit harder. Was managing 2 laps of Loretto, which some claim to be 800m a lap, but I think 750m might have been closer to the mark. Still, 1500m in 5 minutes is nothing to complain about. really had to hang on for the last one, but that's what this sort of training is for.
Wednesday 26th January 2005, 7.30am
16km easy, 1:11.10, Ave HR 151 bpm
Yesterdays session left me a bit flat, but this was a fairly good run anyway.
Thursday 27th January 2005, 7:30am
10km, w/ 6km tempo, 39.47, Ave HR 151
Really flew through the tempo section - sub 3:40/km. Felt fantastic, a great session. Nice to run a sub 40 10km in training!
Friday 28th January 2005
Off
Achillles was a bit sore, so I took a rest day today, although I was jumping out of my skin to train.
Saturday 29th January 2005, 8:00am
8 x 1min on/1 min off.
20 min WU/CD
Was off-colour before my run, but thought nothing of it. First intervals way too fast - almost 400m. Dropped back pace, and finished session OK, although wasn't blown away by my performance (had to break interval 7 into 2x30 seconds).
Sunday 29th January 2005
Off
Got back from Saturday's run, and promptly put myself to bed. Got up to take my wife out to dinner for her birthday, and then spent the next 36 hours flat on my back with severe gastro. I have never been knocked about like this ever! I think it had already started before my interval session yesterday, and that is what took the physical toll on me (although the three glasses of wine and the tempura tuna and slow roasted pork belly might have been contributing factors :->). Frustrating not to be able to do the full program for the week, but these things happen.
All in all, despite the end of week illness, I was really happy with the new program. Only walked the recoveries of my intervals, and I will focus on improving the pace of the recoveries before upping the speed over the next few weeks. Am planning to do a 5km race late February, and another mid March to gauge the impact of my program.
Week summary:
Runs: 5
Distance: 66 km
Time: 4 hours, 38 minutes
This one time at Running Camp...
So what did I do at running camp that got me so excited?
Lots of running for a start, as well as stretching, spinal fitness, massage and program review. The runs for the weeked were as follows:
Friday 21st January 2005, 5:00pm
7km easy, 34:21, Ave HR 150
Despite assurances from Dan, 5 minutes into the run we headed onto a bush track. With my ankle still in comeback mode, a dropped to the back of the back and took on a cautious shuffle. Once we headed out of the bush, I tried to make up for the easy pace, and probably worked a bit too hard on the hills - not the best easy run I've done.
Saturday 22nd January 2005, 8:00am
6 x 3minutes, 90 sec recovery
A tough session, with the distance covered dropping each interval, although I only lost about 50m over the entire session. According to Action's GPS, we were covering about 900m, which when you add in the hill, was about 3:15/km - so a pretty satisfactory effort.
About 15 minutes warm-up/cool-down either side
Saturday 22nd January 2005, 5:00pm
5.5km recivery, 26 minutes, Ave HR 144
Very beautiful, as a storm had just passed through, leaving lots of mist, but also very steamy, and not very comfortable. Too quick for a recovery run, but with two girls in the lead pack, I couldn't drop off the pace :->. Actually, only the hills made it tricky, otherwise pace was good.
Sunday 23rd January 2005, 8:00am
90 minutes steady, Ave HR 147
A fantastic run in cool, foggy conditions. Ran at the fron with the 28 Racing guys, and although they were running easily (the ACT 5000m final was on in two days), it was great to be in such company (Brett Cartwright, Mark Thomson, Martin Dent), and not struggling to keep up. A misguided detour through the bush (again thanks to Dr Green) was the only downside. Wich I could train in this way every Sunday.
After much discussion with Dr Dan Green (current Australian Marathon Champion), a new direction (as discussed in my last post) was reached, and a new program put in place, as outlined here:
Sunday: Long Run 20km
Monday: Easy Run 12km
Tuesday: Session 1
Wednesday: Medium Long Run 16km
Thursday: Tempo Run 6km as part of 10km run
Friday: Easy Run 10km
Saturday: Session 2
The sessions will be drawn from the following pool
1. 6 x 3 minutes, 90 sec recov
2. 4 x 5 minutes, 2 minutes recov
3. 3 x 7.5 minutes, 2.5 minutes recov
4. 8 x 1 minutes, 1 minutes recov
5. Mona fartlek (90" x 2, 60" x 4, 30"x 4, 15" x 4) equal recovery
6. 15' with 5' surge, then 3-4 200-300m hill reps
The sessions will be grouped as follows:
1 & 6, 2 & 4, 3 & 5
Stay tuned to see how my first week on this new program goes.
Lots of running for a start, as well as stretching, spinal fitness, massage and program review. The runs for the weeked were as follows:
Friday 21st January 2005, 5:00pm
7km easy, 34:21, Ave HR 150
Despite assurances from Dan, 5 minutes into the run we headed onto a bush track. With my ankle still in comeback mode, a dropped to the back of the back and took on a cautious shuffle. Once we headed out of the bush, I tried to make up for the easy pace, and probably worked a bit too hard on the hills - not the best easy run I've done.
Saturday 22nd January 2005, 8:00am
6 x 3minutes, 90 sec recovery
A tough session, with the distance covered dropping each interval, although I only lost about 50m over the entire session. According to Action's GPS, we were covering about 900m, which when you add in the hill, was about 3:15/km - so a pretty satisfactory effort.
About 15 minutes warm-up/cool-down either side
Saturday 22nd January 2005, 5:00pm
5.5km recivery, 26 minutes, Ave HR 144
Very beautiful, as a storm had just passed through, leaving lots of mist, but also very steamy, and not very comfortable. Too quick for a recovery run, but with two girls in the lead pack, I couldn't drop off the pace :->. Actually, only the hills made it tricky, otherwise pace was good.
Sunday 23rd January 2005, 8:00am
90 minutes steady, Ave HR 147
A fantastic run in cool, foggy conditions. Ran at the fron with the 28 Racing guys, and although they were running easily (the ACT 5000m final was on in two days), it was great to be in such company (Brett Cartwright, Mark Thomson, Martin Dent), and not struggling to keep up. A misguided detour through the bush (again thanks to Dr Green) was the only downside. Wich I could train in this way every Sunday.
After much discussion with Dr Dan Green (current Australian Marathon Champion), a new direction (as discussed in my last post) was reached, and a new program put in place, as outlined here:
Sunday: Long Run 20km
Monday: Easy Run 12km
Tuesday: Session 1
Wednesday: Medium Long Run 16km
Thursday: Tempo Run 6km as part of 10km run
Friday: Easy Run 10km
Saturday: Session 2
The sessions will be drawn from the following pool
1. 6 x 3 minutes, 90 sec recov
2. 4 x 5 minutes, 2 minutes recov
3. 3 x 7.5 minutes, 2.5 minutes recov
4. 8 x 1 minutes, 1 minutes recov
5. Mona fartlek (90" x 2, 60" x 4, 30"x 4, 15" x 4) equal recovery
6. 15' with 5' surge, then 3-4 200-300m hill reps
The sessions will be grouped as follows:
1 & 6, 2 & 4, 3 & 5
Stay tuned to see how my first week on this new program goes.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
A whole new direction
I've just returned from the CoolRunning/28 Racing team running camp, and have come back super-motivated, with a whole new direction. My two weeks off have given me time to ponder my goals for this year, the foremost of which was to run a 2:40 marathon, ideally at Canberra in April. Two weeks of lost training (and the time it takes to build back up to what was a pretty ambitious schedule) has pretty much ruled out a crack at Canberra.
But more significantly, I had to ask myself "why do I want to run a marathon?". The answers, such as it having more conversational value than a fast 10km, were pretty shallow. So if i drop the marathon fixation, and ask a simpler question "what do I want to get out of my running?", some more enticing answers come back.
"To be the best I can" might sum it up, if you add a little footnote that says "within the constraints of the rest of my life". So it's time to go with my strengths, and that strength is my speed. My actual 23 second 200m PB will never extrapolate into the 2:17 marathon predicted by the charts, so it's time to pick something a bit more tangible.
I have run some fast times over shorter distances (particularly 400 & 800m), but this sort of racing and training doesn't fit in with my personal life (track training two nights a week and all-day carnivals), and I think at 34, some of my speed is not going to come back to me.
This leads to the distance events, but those for which speed gives an advantage - namely the 3000/5000m. By focusing on these events, I can step up (10,000m, maybe even the odd half marathon) and down (1500m) to give a broad range of racing distances, and a whole bunch of new frontiers in the PB department (my 1:54 800m time is unlikely to be broken in this lifetime, but everything above this (such as my 4:08 1500m PB) have scope for improvement).
So I am now a 3000m runner. Dr Daniel Green (current Australian Marathon Champion), who convened the training camp, has set me a good program to follow, which whilst only slightly modifying my current schedule in terms of mileage and training week structure, should allow me to utilise my natural speed far more effectively, and have a memorable racing year in 2005.
For the sake of posterity, here are my goals for the year:
1. To break 9 minutes for 3,000m (PB 9:34)
2. To break 16 minutes for 5,000m (PB 16:08)
3. To break 33 mintes for 10,000m (PB 32:59)
4. To break 4 minutes for 1500m (PB 4:08)
The last one is only likely to happen if I decide to race track next summer, which is why it is a #4, despite being the toughest one on the list. From a comparative viewpoint, the 3000m goal is tougher than the 5k/10k goal, and these two should come if I focus on my 3000m time.
Because it's only January now, I have a lot of time to achieve these, and don't want to rush. My first aim is to get 7 weeks of consistent training in on my new program (which I will outline in a future post), and have a 5km race to check my progression. My recent 16:53 5km will act as the benchmark for comparison, and a CoolRunning 5km challenge in late March would be ideal.
So there you have it - the Sparkie agenda laid bare. Stay tuned to see how my progress goes over the coming weeks and months.
But more significantly, I had to ask myself "why do I want to run a marathon?". The answers, such as it having more conversational value than a fast 10km, were pretty shallow. So if i drop the marathon fixation, and ask a simpler question "what do I want to get out of my running?", some more enticing answers come back.
"To be the best I can" might sum it up, if you add a little footnote that says "within the constraints of the rest of my life". So it's time to go with my strengths, and that strength is my speed. My actual 23 second 200m PB will never extrapolate into the 2:17 marathon predicted by the charts, so it's time to pick something a bit more tangible.
I have run some fast times over shorter distances (particularly 400 & 800m), but this sort of racing and training doesn't fit in with my personal life (track training two nights a week and all-day carnivals), and I think at 34, some of my speed is not going to come back to me.
This leads to the distance events, but those for which speed gives an advantage - namely the 3000/5000m. By focusing on these events, I can step up (10,000m, maybe even the odd half marathon) and down (1500m) to give a broad range of racing distances, and a whole bunch of new frontiers in the PB department (my 1:54 800m time is unlikely to be broken in this lifetime, but everything above this (such as my 4:08 1500m PB) have scope for improvement).
So I am now a 3000m runner. Dr Daniel Green (current Australian Marathon Champion), who convened the training camp, has set me a good program to follow, which whilst only slightly modifying my current schedule in terms of mileage and training week structure, should allow me to utilise my natural speed far more effectively, and have a memorable racing year in 2005.
For the sake of posterity, here are my goals for the year:
1. To break 9 minutes for 3,000m (PB 9:34)
2. To break 16 minutes for 5,000m (PB 16:08)
3. To break 33 mintes for 10,000m (PB 32:59)
4. To break 4 minutes for 1500m (PB 4:08)
The last one is only likely to happen if I decide to race track next summer, which is why it is a #4, despite being the toughest one on the list. From a comparative viewpoint, the 3000m goal is tougher than the 5k/10k goal, and these two should come if I focus on my 3000m time.
Because it's only January now, I have a lot of time to achieve these, and don't want to rush. My first aim is to get 7 weeks of consistent training in on my new program (which I will outline in a future post), and have a 5km race to check my progression. My recent 16:53 5km will act as the benchmark for comparison, and a CoolRunning 5km challenge in late March would be ideal.
So there you have it - the Sparkie agenda laid bare. Stay tuned to see how my progress goes over the coming weeks and months.
Friday, January 21, 2005
I'm back
After two weeks of complete rest, and some outstanding work by Northside Sports Physiotherapy (thanks Robbie and Tristan), I only missed two weeks of training, and was back on the roads a fortnight to the day that I rolled my ankle.
I have lost a little bit of fitness, and struggled through the first few runs. As my ankle felt strong, I didn't run too easily, and although my HR was up, my times weren't far from where they were prior to my lay-off. The ankle has given me NO problems at all, apart from some tightness in the surrounding muscles that have been doing some extra work for a few weeks. A quick recommendation to anyone in this position - GET TO A PHYSIO ASAP.
The following is a breakdown of my training since starting back.
Wednesday 12th January 2005, 1:00pm
5km easy - 23:14 Ave HR 157
Hills were tougher than usual, but no problems with ankle
Thursday 13th January 2005, 10:40am
10km easy - 43:40 Ave HR 153
Still a bit underdone, but running OK
Friday 14th January 2005, 6:00pm
12km steady - 51:06 Ave HR 157
Worked this a bit more
Sunday 16th January 2005, 7:00pm
12km mixed - 51:48 Ave HR 156
Really let fly over the first 4.5 km - sub 4:00/km pace (although it was downhill)
Eased back over the rest of the course, but happy to have done a bit of speed work.
Tuesday 18th January 2005, 4:20pm
8.5km easy - 36.01, Ave HR 145
Rolled through first half comfortably, and picked things up a bit on the way home. Similar form to pre-injury.
Wednesday 19th January 2005, 3.20pm
16km steady - 1:09:15 Ave HR 156
Worked this run, without going too hard. Second half uphill, so always needs a bit of effort. HR was higher than normal (into the 160s for most of the second half) but breathing very controllled. First longer run for over 3 weeks, so very happy to have held it together. Faced my demons by following the same course that caused my ankle roll.
Thurday 20th January 2005, 6.30am
6km easy - 29.37 Ave HR 148
Ran this with Louis in the stroller, so pace was off normal. High HR on the uphills towards the end - not the best of runs for training, but Louis had a good time watching the world go by.
I have lost a little bit of fitness, and struggled through the first few runs. As my ankle felt strong, I didn't run too easily, and although my HR was up, my times weren't far from where they were prior to my lay-off. The ankle has given me NO problems at all, apart from some tightness in the surrounding muscles that have been doing some extra work for a few weeks. A quick recommendation to anyone in this position - GET TO A PHYSIO ASAP.
The following is a breakdown of my training since starting back.
Wednesday 12th January 2005, 1:00pm
5km easy - 23:14 Ave HR 157
Hills were tougher than usual, but no problems with ankle
Thursday 13th January 2005, 10:40am
10km easy - 43:40 Ave HR 153
Still a bit underdone, but running OK
Friday 14th January 2005, 6:00pm
12km steady - 51:06 Ave HR 157
Worked this a bit more
Sunday 16th January 2005, 7:00pm
12km mixed - 51:48 Ave HR 156
Really let fly over the first 4.5 km - sub 4:00/km pace (although it was downhill)
Eased back over the rest of the course, but happy to have done a bit of speed work.
Tuesday 18th January 2005, 4:20pm
8.5km easy - 36.01, Ave HR 145
Rolled through first half comfortably, and picked things up a bit on the way home. Similar form to pre-injury.
Wednesday 19th January 2005, 3.20pm
16km steady - 1:09:15 Ave HR 156
Worked this run, without going too hard. Second half uphill, so always needs a bit of effort. HR was higher than normal (into the 160s for most of the second half) but breathing very controllled. First longer run for over 3 weeks, so very happy to have held it together. Faced my demons by following the same course that caused my ankle roll.
Thurday 20th January 2005, 6.30am
6km easy - 29.37 Ave HR 148
Ran this with Louis in the stroller, so pace was off normal. High HR on the uphills towards the end - not the best of runs for training, but Louis had a good time watching the world go by.
Monday, January 03, 2005
Arghhhhhh!!!
Not sure how I would feel after my double recovery on Tuesday, but it certainly did the trick, as I felt fantastic, and was smoothly rolling through 4:00/km on a 16km run. Unfortunately, I was feeling so great that I was thinking 5km down the road, and hit a hole on one of the few unpaved sections, 3km into the run. Went down in agony, and knew that I had done something bad.
Unfortunately, being Wahroonga there were no public phones or taxis, and the distance to the nearest public phone was only marginally shorter than the distance home, so I walked the 3km back, with my ankle the size of a grapefruit. Ice, rest and very little sympathy were the order of the day.
This is the first real ankle roll I have had since doing the same ankle 8km into the 6 ft track trial run in 2003 (followed by a 2 hour walk back out). The visual impact was not as spectacular as last time, but I fear the damage may be greater (I ran 80km the week after that time). Went to the physio on Friday, and was encouraged that my self treatment had limited any damage, and that 2 weeks may be all I am out for (two tendons had been damaged).
Unfortunately, this is two weeks I can ill afford at the moment, and I am concerned about how long it will take to get my mileage back to a level where I can launch into a program with a 105km first week. I am also worried about my vulnerability to further ankle problems that his has caused.
Still, at the moment, Canberra is still on the radar screen. I tried some swimming yesterday, but my upper body strength is woefully outclassed by my aerobic capacity, and after 400m I was barely breathing, but my arms were aching. I have another physio appointment tomorrow, and will make a decision about possible cross-training after that. Managed a 3km walk this morning, so certainly I am not incapacitated, but the impact of a full training week is another matter.
Unfortunately, being Wahroonga there were no public phones or taxis, and the distance to the nearest public phone was only marginally shorter than the distance home, so I walked the 3km back, with my ankle the size of a grapefruit. Ice, rest and very little sympathy were the order of the day.
This is the first real ankle roll I have had since doing the same ankle 8km into the 6 ft track trial run in 2003 (followed by a 2 hour walk back out). The visual impact was not as spectacular as last time, but I fear the damage may be greater (I ran 80km the week after that time). Went to the physio on Friday, and was encouraged that my self treatment had limited any damage, and that 2 weeks may be all I am out for (two tendons had been damaged).
Unfortunately, this is two weeks I can ill afford at the moment, and I am concerned about how long it will take to get my mileage back to a level where I can launch into a program with a 105km first week. I am also worried about my vulnerability to further ankle problems that his has caused.
Still, at the moment, Canberra is still on the radar screen. I tried some swimming yesterday, but my upper body strength is woefully outclassed by my aerobic capacity, and after 400m I was barely breathing, but my arms were aching. I have another physio appointment tomorrow, and will make a decision about possible cross-training after that. Managed a 3km walk this morning, so certainly I am not incapacitated, but the impact of a full training week is another matter.
