pconn062 wrote: » Great post and nice to get your thoughts on it. "Easy" is very subjective and I think it's right to say a lot of factors play into it like the time of day you run, but also sleep, nutrition, age etc. I too often start my runs at 8.15/20 pace but naturally shift to 7.20-40 by the end. And I'm wondering should I just stay in that slower range, and would I feel fresher? Going to experiment on a few runs this week as I have been feeling a bit flat with tired legs for the last three weeks or so.
pconn062 wrote: » It's a great block of training you've put in, will be interesting to see how the first race goes.
Sacksian wrote: » Everyone runs their easy days quicker than me! And you're running a bit more than 10-20s faster than me on your long runs these days!! I think there are a lot of factors to it. I'm taking the opportunity to ramble here, P so excuse the length of the post! Because of previous injuries, I've been making a big effort to pay attention to my cadence on easy runs, particularly when I'm running on concrete. It means I don't run that freely (and I don't enjoy running on concrete). It's a bit of a chore, to be honest but it means I'm injury free at the moment. The surface could also be a factor, I run everything on grass and trails. And higher mileage definitely plays a part. I just go at whatever pace my legs want to go at and, honestly, I'm actually surprised at how quick some of my easy days are! In 2018-19, when I was running strictly by hr and doing decent mileage, my easy days were closer to 8:30 most of the time. So, to my mind, my easy runs are quite speedy these days by comparison! The time I run at is a factor as well - I'm really f*cking old and it takes me a couple of miles to warm up when I'm out the door at 7 these days. I see a lot of guys doing low- or sub-7s out the gate and that's never going to be me. Unless I'm very fit and I then drop mileage, my opening pace is always about 8min/m and sometimes closer to 9min/m. It's possibly a bit of a hangover from when I did a lot of training by hr when I really had to warm up very gently to keep the hr low. But I don't mind runs turning progressive if it's not going to impact sessions/recovery. When I ran less, and when I started running, almost every run was progressive, which was fine because I wasn't running every day and the runs were relatively short. So, the easy run pace would definitely pick up if I dropped the mileage and intensity a bit but I know if I do that, I'll find it harder to get the mileage back up for xc so my intention is to keep it - within reason - at a good level through the track season. That's the intention, whether or not I'll succeed is another matter! Ultimately, I think that easy pace is very individual. I look at some people's easy pace and think "why is their easy pace" so much faster than mine?! And then I look at the guys who are the guts of 2min faster than me over 5k and wonder why is my easy pace only 30s slower than theirs!! There's a guy in the club whose easy pace is generally over 8 and often in the 8:30s and there'll be 9minute miles in there too - and I suspect he'll dip under 15mins for 5k this year. And he can rip off 45s 300s when he needs to. There are other guys I know who've taken big leaps after actively deciding to increase their easy pace. It really depends...and which is why I sometimes think that it's very important for everyone to figure out what works for them, and what approach (or environment) will get them out the door consistently - whether that's consistently once a week or twice a day - and sustainably. There are people who will tell you Kipchoge does his recovery at 9min/mile and there are other runners who never run slower than 6:** but realistically the only thing about easy pace that matters is that it's not too fast to impact on recovery or sessions and not too slow to impact on biomechanics/efficiency. For me, sustainability in training is often about intensity, I'll get injured or sick if I push it too much so I try to err on the side of caution - especially with the Sunday long runs. If you're not feeling tired and you're hitting your paces in sessions, you're probably fine. Last week was a big week for me and I was having trouble sleeping - which I'm presuming is partly to do with the training volume. I wasn't that pushed about going out today either. Little things like that tell me that I might be a little bit on the edge, so I just have to navigate those periods without getting struck down. I'm generally more of an under-cooker than an over-cooker but I have messed up a few races in recent years by just tipping over the edge in terms of training intensity in the final week where I was flying in training and just needed to sit the last session out. Magness is good on this in The Science of Running on st/ft tapers. TLDR; I like easy runs to be very easy mainly because I am lazy, but also because I am old.
pconn062 wrote: » For the sake of discussion, I have a question for you! You seem to do your easy mileage much slower than other guys of your ability with similar PB's. Even I would run 10-20 secs on average quicker than you I would say on easy days, without pushing the pace.
pconn062 wrote: » I am looking at my own easy pace and wondering is it too fast, even though it feels easy and heart rate suggests the same.
Sacksian wrote: » Shoot me if I post in this log next weekend and I’ve run only one session in 7 days of running.
Sacksian wrote: » Thanks - the timing is good but I'd be happy with 5 to be honest and if the Leinsters have the open competition and seniors/masters in Morton, that'll be fine for me.
Chivito550 wrote: » There's also NI Seniors 29th August and NI Masters 5th September if looking for more races.
pconn062 wrote: » In a regular year with the track season starting in May/June I think you would be very happy to be in the position you are in now with 3 very solid months of base building done and no injury interruptions really. And there's plenty of time until August/September races. It's looking good now for when you start introducing more quality work.
pconn062 wrote: » What's the focus event for the year? 1500m?
Chivito550 wrote: » Try telling that to Athletics NI https://athleticsni.org/News/Athletics-NI-News/Summer-2020-Competition-Framework
KSU wrote: » Worth considering that it is no justt the athletes that will present the risk. Sadly the demographic of volunteer officials will probably be the biggest stumbling block with track races happening this year.
Chivito550 wrote: » What's your thoughts on the possibility of Irish Masters happening? There's obviously a lot of people involved in the riskier category who would be competing. I see they've binned it in the UK. This is supposed to be my first season at masters.
Chivito550 wrote: » What's your thoughts on the possibility of Irish Masters happening? There's obviously a lot of people involved in the riskier category who would be competing. This is supposed to be my first season at masters.
Sacksian wrote: » Up to 56.5 miles last week. Again all easy with just a few steady miles thrown in on Tuesday + Friday and 30 minutes of running back and forth across a football pitch on Wednesday. Managed to get back to some running on grass and trails on Saturday which felt so much better for my knee, but then tripped on a branch yesterday and hit the deck hard on both knees. Running home with blood streaming from my legs was not a good look during a pandemic. Both knees are now bruised badly but I was able to run this morning (although the cuts are a bit sore) so hopefully all good. I was expecting this log to be providing slightly more interesting updates than this but I’m really enjoying just getting out every morning and running for an hour. Hopefully, it'll pay off. Provided I don’t fúck everything up by busting my knees again, I could get up to 60 easy this week. And then, next week, I can start introducing sessions again. There’s a hope of some racing in August. If I can keep up what I’m doing now, and get two months of sessions, I don’t see how I won’t be in or about where I want to be for 1500 and 5k by then.
