It's the time of the year for new beginnings - the first daffodils popped their heads out of their green cocoons a few days after new years, adding a bit of welcome colour to the garden. The time feels right to awaken from my slumber and do something more meaningful and structured with my running. It's been a long time since I sniffed the sweet nectar of a PB and this has made me apathetic. It may take a while to reach those dizzying heights again and with the uphill struggle against an ageing body I may never get there - but it's time to test the waters and see what I can squeeze out of a bit of structured training.
My easy runs are not as effortless as they used to be, which tells me that my aerobic base still needs building. Therefore I did not deviate from my weekend tempo/long run double act to taper for the Dungarvan 10 miler last Sunday and instead ran it as a progression run from 7:20 down to 6:40 pace, which is all I could manage, having completed a 20 miler the day before. Still it was a good enjoyable effort - starting with the 75 minute pacers - passing the 70 minute pacers at mile 6.5 and finishing up a few seconds under 68:30, well shy of my PB - my philosophy being that a 20 mile run the day before is more beneficial training than knocking a few more minutes out of a 10 mile race, particularly as I am training for back to back marathons in just over 2 weeks time. The training even gets more specific this weekend where about 10 to 15 souls will complete a full recce run of the back 2 back experience, at the invite of the Race Director. This is the first time i have been "invited" on to such a select shortlist - I guess there were no other nutters out there.
Rather that use the race on Sunday to assess where my running "is at" I opted for the less stressful method of running 5 miles around the track at Tuesday evenings club session. I have done this test on and off over the last 2 years at a constant 140 HR with the recorded average pace and pace drift ( pace variation from mile 1 to 5) giving a good indication of my general aerobic and endurance fitness. Rather that stick rigidly to the 140 HR (I should drop it by 1 every year to ensure I am running well within the aerobic zone) I dropped to 138HR this year and in order to have a direct comparison with previous years I assessed the number of heartbeats it takes to run 1 km, which should remain constant year on year for a specific level of fitness. For example I found that when I was in peak aerobic shape in 2011 & 2012 I was running a km with 600 heartbeats. Tuesday's session revealed that it currently takes me 621 HBs to run 1 km (averaged over a 5 mile run) which tells me I have a little to go before my aerobic base is complete. Also the drift from 7:03 to 7:25 pace from mile 1 to 5 suggests that my endurance base needs a bit of "tidying up" also. Although I am in a slightly better place than I was this time last year - covering the 5 miles in less time and with a lower HR.
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Mile 3 of my 10 mile Progression on Sunday (Courtesy: Joe Murphy) |
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Mile 9.75 with Clubmate Anne Marie - Looking a bit more Stressed. (Courtesy: Joe Murphy) |
Interesting numbers. More drift 1st to last than Jan 2012 but lower h/beats per km. How do you go with the relationship of h/beats per km to racing? Do you get lower numbers for say a 10k race and would the 621 at your racing HR predict a 10k time? I generally get about 15-20 lower when racing a 5-10k.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, interesting challenge - back to back marathons - wow!
Ewen, compared to you I am a bit new to the whole h/beats per km thing and have never analysed it during a race. I will do so over the weekend for the back to backs and see how I get on. Certainly the drift is more pronounced compared to last year, suggesting my endurance base is a bit behind or perhaps my recovery from the weekend is not complete. The next test will reveal all - hopefully.
DeleteLooking disgracefully relaxed there at mile 3! I agree with the 20 miler though - you need to re-build your base first, and realistically speaking a PB in Dungarvan was never on the cards.
ReplyDeleteAll the best for 2013. Are you targeting a specific race?
Im certainly a long way off a PB Thomas, unless i find a new distance. I was thinking of targeting the Portumna marathon in June - and have a Canova plan that a clubmate gave me. I'd be interested in having a look at your plan for Tralee.
DeleteGood to see you getting (even more) focused though with a back 2 back coming up I would say you will have no problem with your aerobic base after that.
ReplyDeletePortuma could work out very well for you.Plenty of time there..