Sunrise Running

dna_leri wrote: »

I also got a foot injury during 2020 and my first instinct was to "blame the shoes" - too tight, not enough cushioning. While shoes may have been a factor, increasing volume and intensity without increasing recovery was probably a bigger factor. I know of others who also increased their workload and got injured. Without recognizing the real cause, it is easy to repeat the sins of the past. I'm preaching to myself as well.

That being said, you should have no difficulty hitting 18 min 5K.

Thanks. Undoubtedly the culprit lies in there somewhere.
Random hard workouts.
No weekly progression.
Volume over recovery.
No Plan!

in 2019 I executed a 4 month plan courtesy of mssrs Hansons and got a lifetime marathon PR.

So this time I'm taking the progressive approach.
5k workouts - workout 1 each week
Build to 20 mins of 19min pace stuff, then execute sub 19
18 mins is lifetime PR for me

10k workouts - workout 2 each week
Build to 40 mins of work at 40 mins pace, then execute sub 40
Repeat to sub 39
38 mins is lifetime PR for me

EDIT: I've just started reading Matt Fitzgeralds 80/20 and I see he has a 5k chapter!

I guess easy to blame the shoes alright. I guess with the higher volume I was going through shoes quicker. It was also my first time using the racing line of shoes like Adizero and NB 1500 (that now seems like ancient history with all this carbon plate and stack height stuff!).

I've since taken S&C and foam rolling much more seriously. I've also taken a bit more attention to shoe fit and use.

Now foot stuff n stuff!

40mins work at 40mins pace. Ill build to it. Plus I'll use HRR to gauge effort, keeping it 80-89%

24 mins last week (6x4min)
30 mins this week (6x5min)
36 mins after that (6x6min)
40 mins after that (5x8min)
40 mins again after that (4x10min)
39:XX TT

If I hit 39:XX I'll take a week off then build again for improvement.

Saucony Endorphin Speeds arrived today Even though from reviews they fit to size, I ordered a size up. In actual fact its probably the size I should be ordering. Snug on midfoot. A thumbnail width between big toe and top of shoe. Little toe free. Big toe not squashed. Lockdown good but crucially toes have room to move. A basic mistake I made many times last year until the bursitis copped me on. Some lovely shoes that fit me like cinderellas slippers :cool: I now use sparingly, favouring roomier sizes.

Volume. No doubt I got excited like most here about newfound mileage boundaries. 60 miles was once a mountain, then the regular, then all too soon a step back week. Felt amazing to churn out those miles :rolleyes: Hit 80+ and actually wondered if a 100 mile week was doable :rolleyes: Sure, if I built the relative base over years not weeks :rolleyes::o Over zealous. The Boards 1 mile TT in Cinderlla Adizero finished me off no doubt.

Let's just hope all of us in the foot locker have a better go this year!

Jan 21
13.32k Easy @5:07 | HRR 61-68%

Needed to get up and get a head start on the day today. A little work done before I headed out at 0630. Bitter despite no apparent frost. Forgot the HRM so Garmin told me I was overreaching, take 3.5 days easy or consider a day off :rolleyes: Standard miles in the dark. Mostly wet but some icy patches. Hard to see ice on tarmac and had a little slip, jarring my right knee. Uneventful from there except for a complete idiot driver who sped through a pedestrian crossing and nearly took me out of it. Its well lit up and I was in a hi-viz. He literally passed a foot in front of me and gave me an awful jolt. I rarely swear but left a roaring set of expletives after him :mad:

I need to make a conscious effort to get up and move during the day so will plug in some short S&C bits.

Gotta say, I'm delighted the Clown is gone and Americans can look forward to, hopefully, a more normal life. The way Lady Gaga belted this out was hard not to get choked.



2021
162/2,600 miles (261/4,200 km)
695/10,000 press ups | 295/2,000 pull ups
29/1,000 km rowing
21/21 days active | 19 Run | 5 Row | 9 S&C | 2 Yoga

Jan 23
18.49k inc 6x5min LT off 2 mins | HRR 71-87%

Keeping it simple this week. Just running, once a day. Focusing on form and quality. I am missing the mat though. I was looking forward to this, 30 minutes of work at 40min 10k pace. I felt good, really good, holding it back at times. It was a low to mid threshold zone workout and banked 22 of 30 mins in the LT zone (80-90% HRR). It was a bit of a cold, wet and dirty night but I didn't care. Just got stuck in and got it done. Some of the reps were a little hot but not by much. I never felt the raspy red zone breathing and despite the 2 mins recovery being at 5:00ish pace, I recovered well.

6x5min LT (HRR 80-90%) off 2mins easy
Target 4:00 range 3:55-4:05
dist|time|pace|in range
1.28km|5:00|3:55|Yes
1.28km|5:00|3:54|No
1.29km|5:00|3:52|No
1.28km|5:00|3:54|No
1.28km|5:00|3:55|Yes
1.26km|5:00|3:58|Yes


Chatting with a mate earlier I was reminded of a work trip this time last year. Indeed my last trip before the Pandemic closed in. I remember catching a beautiful frosty sunrise running through a lovely urban park.


2021
181/2,600 miles (292/4,200 km)
695/10,000 press ups | 295/2,000 pull ups
29/1,000 km rowing
23/23 days active | 21 Run | 5 Row | 9 S&C | 2 Yoga

Swashbuckler wrote: »

When you say 40min 10k pace I assume you don't mean that's 10k effort for you? Otherwise it's not LT?

Correct. Basically I'm looking at the minutes I bank between 80-90%. This workout is 10k focused hence longer reps. I use HR to guide me early days when I don't know what pace to target. My immediate 10k goal is sub40 so I've progressing towards that building progressively longer reps at that pace. Actual 10k training effort would be high LT and low RZ. Thats too risky for me to train at yet. I've made that mistake training by target pace too early too many times.

Murph_D wrote: »

Good session, but is LT really up to 90% HRR? My number (following LT test) is 84% at the upper end.

Yup. Linked an article below for you. Lots more like that. Its generally accepted that LT is between 80-90% HRR. Actual aerobic threshold also known as lactate threshold is the point where lactate starts to accumulate. This could be lower down that zone 82-83 for some and higher 87-88 for others. How quickly threshold onset is is individual.
https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/lactatethreshold.html

Its why I train and trust hr. I know what LT feels like physically and how my breathing changes. I've copped that the breathing is really the clue. For me I develop a slight rasp that turns into a wheeze by the time I get beyond LT and into the RZ. Problem is I've just not been disciplined enough to A) listen to that in sessions and recover appropriate to the workout effort.

So in actual HR terms I know LT starts (I was lab tested) at about 167hr or 85.7%HRR and I cross into RZ around 173hr or 90.0% HRR. 10k effort will be up here and when it gets to 180hr or 95% HRR I'm burning matches faster than I can replace them.

The session tonight maxed at 87.1% HRR with most of the LT minutes at 84-85% HRR so for me that's right where I want to be.

Next week I'm going to do a 5kTT with just HR on my screen.

Jan 26 - 5k TT

I was sort of procrastinating. Mentally pushing this out to tomorrow. However its a first of the year and a benchmark. I was at 20:02 this very day last year so anything better would be a good start. I was not aiming for time though. This would be an exercise in HR control. I speak up enough about training by HR/HRR on this forum so I figured I'd actually use it in a TT. It was the only metric on the watch face.

A grey wet misty sort of day but mild and relatively calm. I took my usual 20 minute warm up to the Industrial Estate and threw in 4x 20sec strides to wake the legs up.

The strategy
Avoid the redzone (90%+ HRR or 173 actual HR) for 2km. Try at stay in the mid to high threshold zone 85-89% HRR (165-172HR)
Km 3 low redzone, stay well under 95% HRR (180HR)
Km 4 aim to hit 95% HRR (180HR)
Km 5 just give it what ever is left

Actual
I got into stride pretty quickly but was alarmed at seeing 163HR within a minute I mentally settled, relaxed my shoulders, focused on breathing. KM 1 pinged in 3:43 and HRR 88%. Too fast I thought, my usual but I didn't blow up, just steady it.

Km 2 avoid the redzone. I really tried to maintain the cadence but control my breathing. The effort kept climbing but I slowed the climb a little. I was onto lap 2 of 4 of the Estate and did not want to see 172HR yet. 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%.. F&@k, calm down Mike. Beep, 3:49 and came back to 90%. Still a bit pacey but have not blown it yet. Trust the HR, ignore teh pace!.

Km 3 I'm settled in now, and working. After 2 laps of the Estate I was firmly on 91% effort. Halfway done and redzone. Time to dig in. Again try to stop the cardiac drift accelerating too quickly. I felt like I had relaxed and was surprised when the watch beeped 3:44. I realized sub20 was in the bag if I just didn't fall apart but too early to count chickens.

Km 4 and its starting to close in. The last 2 turns of the Estate on lap 3 were hard. I was at 94% effort (HRR) and breathing heavily. I had spent more time that I'd planned in the redone but had yet to see 180HR. I knew it was coming. I felt it in my burning lungs, my screaming legs as my shoulders got involved for the first time to pump the arms. I entertained the first thought of stopping and quickly banished it as I entered the final lap of the Estate. I was mentally prepared to finish this! The watch beeped 3:43 but I didn't even notice.

Km 5 pour it out! I broke down what was left , 3 right hand turns, thats it. My form is starting to crumble inwards and my breathing is wheezing. My arms are starting to cross my body. I'm falling back to my heels. Before each corner, despite the hurt, I purposely straighten my back, took a deep breath and got back to my toes. 95, 96% HRR. I felt as though I was done, 700m to go and there is no more in the tank. However 181HR on my watch face tells me there is more to give. I can't argue, just push! The last turn and its a straight 300m to finish. The watch beeped 3:40 and I'm on my knees. I quickly realise despite setting the workout as a straight 5k, the watch is running on.

I jogged home catching my breath and loosening my arms with no idea what my time was. I knew I had hit 182HR which was 97% so I gave it a pretty good effort. I also felt satisfied that I paced it well. It hurt but I finished with my fastest split. I also felt satisfied that I could handle more of the redzone than I anticipated. No matter what it was a solid start.

When I stopped the watch at home, it beeped with "1 new record".. 5K in 18:41 :eek::D Sub 19 was unexpected but I did NOT expect that. 12 seconds faster than my Boards 5K TT last year and faster than I've run for 5k in a decade And it was a negative split

Actual Splits
km1 3:43
km2 3:49
km3 3:44
km4 3:43
km5 3:40

8 minute threshold zone, 10 minute redzone. HRR average 84% max 97%.
Could not have gone better