End of block #2, almost (actually will end on Saturday).
I dropped the 12m hilly run two weeks ago. After that last one, I had a twinge of pain and some cramping in my left soleus where it inserts into the knee/hamstring complex. I think I strained it slightly. That was two saturday’s ago. Sunday’s are my day off. I took that monday off also. Calf was better on tuesday; I did my pacing workout as per schedule. Having a repeat injury didn’t seem worth the benefits from the hills. So, I’ve replaced the hilly run with mile repeats (1/4 mile recoveries), and moved things around a bit. that was kinda the plan anyway as mentioned above, but I probably would have done one or two more hilly runs before swapping them out. Current week looks like this:
Mon: pacing workout as above (just completed the 4mi version this week at high ~6:3x pace)
Tue: 60min moderate run
Wed: 40min recovery run
Thu: YxMile repeats with 1/4mile recovery
Fri: 40min recovery run
Sat: Zx800m (1/4 mile rec), Zx400m (1/4 mile rec), Zx150m strides (250m recovery), extended cool down
Sun: off
Pacing Workouts:
Due to weather and work constraints I had to do all of the pacing workouts on my TM this last block. As a result I was unsure of the real road-pace I was holding. Indicated foot-pod speed was ~6:20 pace. I did 4x1mi repeats today at 6:30 (avg) on the road. I could NOT have held that for 4 miles straight. Based on that, I think my indicated TM pace is about 15s faster than equivalent road pace. Thus my pacing workouts were probably closer to 6:35-38 “real-pace” ™. Then again, this cycle the target pace was 6:45. So, I certainly seem to be on track…maybe slightly ahead.
Moderate Run:
I play this run by ear. Its either a 40min recovery run, or a longer moderate run…depending on how I feel. This week, I felt surprisingly good even after the pacing workout the day before. I had the time available, so I ran about 7 miles, in mid-zone2.
Recovery runs:
I bumped these up just a couple minutes to round them off at my target race time (from ~36m). No real reason…just makes my brain feel good. These are high Z1, HR, drifting into low Z2 by the end.
Mile Repeats:
Mile repeats are supposed to be at target race pace (6:30 or better). Last week I did the mile repeats for the first time; the plan was 3x1mi. I only managed 2 and 1/2 reps at 6:32 pace. Today, the plan was 4x1mi…and, I did all 4 at (6:33, 6:26, 6:29, 6:34), The 6:26 is my new, old-dude, training 1mile PR. Not that I’ve spent much time doing fast miles prior to this, when I have they were on the TM (which I’ve always excluded from PRs).
Speed Work:
Zx800m repeats start at target race pace, and subtract 5-10s (pace) for each repeat (eg: 6:30, 6:20, 6:15, 6:10, 6:00)
Zx400m repeats start at target race-pace-15s (6:15), and subtract 5s (pace) for each
Zx150m strides are at target-race-pace-60s.
I started with Z=4, add one each week.
I moved the speed work to Saturday so that I can go to the local track. I extend the cool down to get 10-11 miles. I recover better from this workout than I do from the hilly run that it replaced.
Weekly mileage is still hovering around 38-42 mpw. But, I’m really focused on trading pace and number of repeats back and forth. The mpw are just a consequence. Its sorta surprising how fast you adapt. One week X seems excrutiating. The next week, X+1 seems managable. The week after that, X+2 and the pace doesn’t seem fast enough. Tighten the screws, rinse and repeat.
I don’t really feel the need for a down “week”. But, maybe that’s because something or other conspires to an extra day off every now and again. Either a work related event, a family event, or like the calf-strain comes along and I end up with a 5 day run week instead of 6. I’ve got another race-car event next saturday…so, I’ll miss my “speed day”. I’ll probably just take Sunday off as normal and call that my “off week” returning to normal workouts on Monday.
Body Comp:
Current weight = 150lbs
Bioimpedance bf% = 12.7%. Typically for me, when the PT does a multi-point caliper measurement he gets about 2.5 pts lower than my tanita.
Race day (21 December): 6 weeks and 2 days.