Week 1 of 3: Run Focus 18th November

Here I am at the front of our 4man team TT group. We ended up averaging 42kph and we came 4th overall in very wet and slippery conditions.

At some points I felt like I was riding one of these when Eric, David and Alain came past on their Felt DA and Scott Plasma.

Check us out all decked out in our speed suits.

A good feed the night before always helps
Monday
Run: (36;36), 134bpm, 7km
9min on 1min off.
left foot was sore tonight.
Pace is feeling really good. Definitely sitting under 5min/k's along the flats. Crossing roads, stairs, and endless corner knocks my overall pace to over 5min/k's. Will do the 8k test when my left foot feels better.

Tuesday
Bike: (1:53), 48km, 111bpm
1hr easy then two laps around short circuit which has two climbs about 200m long. Rode first lap seated and second lap standing working the hills hard.
TT for 10min BG (53/14)
Run: (37:14), 7.1km, 132bpm.
Marked out a 1k loop on the canal.
3 x 1k efforts, easy jog back
1. 4:50 (134bpm)
2. 4:28 (148bpm)
3. 4:46 (146bpm)
Pace and RPE are all over the place. First structured interval session in 6mths. Felt good running. need to dial into some consistent efforts/RPE

Wednesday
Bike: (1:54), 47km, 102bpm
recovery ride. Easy spin around town.
Run: (53:31), 10km, 128bpm.
easy to Aet run. My running strength and endurance is coming back in leaps and bounds. M left foot is right on edge. Just managing it. I wish I could get it to 100% instead of having it around 80% injury free

Thursday
Swim: (1hr), 2.5km.
20min straight free.
4-50 fist
4-50 counting strokes
4-50 negative split (45, 40, 35, 32)
4-50 finger drag
4-50 catch up
100 hard (1:15).
200 easy

Friday
Run: (1:03), 12.1km, av hr 141bpm.
12min W/U
1. 4:39 (137bpm)
2. 4:53 (145bpm)
3. 4:55 (145bpm)
4. 4:49 (146bpm)
Aet +10bpm
1. 4:20 (156bpm)
2. 4:29 (159bpm)
3. 4:30 (158bpm)
4. 4:21 (159bpm)

Very happy with the result. I have my Aet back down below 5:00min/k again.


Saturday
Bike: (3hrs), 79km, 115bpm.
2hrs easy to Aet. BG set 53/13 from Adiaba all the way to the pool(20min effort).
Ridng really well
Run: (22min), 3.8km, 134bpm
Legs felt good after the strength session on the bike. Tried to keep cadence up and stay light on my feet. Feet felt good.
Swim: (50min), 2km
200-300m warmup
3x100 on 1:45 (1st one fast 1:22, next 2 tempo 1:28)
200 buoy. Repeated this cycle 3 times through. Shoulders were knackered at the end.
100 paddle gloves. These feel good. Will buy some.

Sunday
Bike: (3.5hrs), 94.69, av hr 121bpm.
2.5hrs of easy riding
30min of TTing Aet
10min BG (60-80rpm), HR Aet +10-15bpm.
I was feeling quite tired this morning. Had to really work the BG set hard and was feeling good towards the end

Swim 1:50
Bike 10:12
Run 3:31
Other 1:30

Total 17:03
Summary
The 8km run test I did on Thursday was the biggest surprise for me. I didn't expect to make that much of an improvement in only 4 weeks. I guess the high frequency run plan I have been doing has really given me some good gains in and around Aet and also Aet +10bpm. The funny thing is though I haven't done a single run over Aet effort. below are my results and comments
Test Date: 17th October 2007
2km W/U
4km @ Aet, (av sp 5:05, av hr 144bpm)
1. 4:54, 141bpm
2. 5:11, 145bpm
3. 5:05, 146bpm
4. 5:09, 146bpm
4km @ Aet +10bpm (av sp 4:43, av hr 156bpm
5. 4:35, 155bpm
6. 4:48, 157bpm
7. 4:46, 157bpm
8. 4:46, 156bpm
Test Date: 16th November 2007
2km W/U
4km @Aet (av sp 4:49min/k, av hr 143bpm)
1. 4:39 (137bpm)
2. 4:53 (145bpm)
3. 4:55 (145bpm)
4. 4:49 (146bpm)
4km @Aet +10bpm (av sp 4:25min/k, av hr 158bpm)
1. 4:20 (156bpm)
2. 4:29 (159bpm)
3. 4:30 (158bpm)
4. 4:21 (159bpm)

Very happy with these results. The test were completed 4 weeks apart. My Aet pace was 5:05min/k (144bpm) and is now 4:49min/k (143bpm). I’ve made an improvement of 16sec per km with an av hr 1bpm lower.
My pace at Aet +10bpm was 4:43min/k (156bpm) and is now 4:25min/k (158bpm). This is an improvement of 18sec per km. However, my av hr was 2bpm higher.
This is basically what I did over the last 4 weeks to achieve these improvements.
1. I focused mainly on frequency. I made every effort to try and run at least 5 times each week.
2. All my runs were in the 30-50minute range. I wanted to ensure that my form was good and would not break down as I became tired. I feel like I’m not ready yet to run up over an hour. I can still feel small changes in my running economy and efficiency when I start running beyond 40minutes. For that reason I was only doing maybe an extra 10minutes to extend myself.
3. I use the 9minute on and 1minite off run protocol. This means that no matter how good I feel. I will always walk 1minute after every 9minutes of running. This has really help with my recovery and it actually allows me to run a lot faster at lower HR’s. I can keep resetting myself and I feel fresh each time I start my new 9minute block. I feel lighter on my feet and I am able to hold my good running form for longer. Therefore, I’m not letting bad habits become part of my running routine.
4. I do all my runs on soft surfaces. This is hard in Tokyo but it has really help me stay in the game and keep those tired legs from becoming unnecessarily too tired and run down.
5. I stretch and ice after every run for at least 20mintues. I’ve had to do this to work around the foot problems I’m experiencing. I’ll also add that I have a lower body massage once PW.
6. I carry fluids with me on every run. I always run with a fuel belt now and make sure I’m drinking every 10-15minutes to try and give myself every chance not to break down. It’s good to train the body to handle good fatigue. Dehydration is bad fatigue.
7. Low HR running. I do about 80% of my weekly volume consists of running at around 130bpm. This is a good 10-15bpm below my Aet. I’ll do about 10% at and around my lower steady zone (ie 140-145bpm) and then I’ll do around 5-10% at my Max staeady state (150-155bpm). This is mostly in the form of strides and fartlek runs.
8. I’m not going to do any Intensity (ie tempo runs, intervals) until I hit a plateau. If I don’t ht a plateau I keep going with the protocol outlined above. Once I enter my specific preps for a race then you’ll start seeing my doing a lot of running between Aet and Aet +10bpm. This would mean long tempo runs and intervals runs in between 4:20-4:45min/k.
I hope that helps
fluro