Tuesday 19 June 2012

2400 test treadmill


More progress but there is the caveat emptor that it was on a treadmill. Running on a treadmill is obviously different from outdoor running.
1. The momentum of the belt can drag you along and renders running at a certain pace marginally easier than outdoors.
2. There is obviously no wind at all or even minor undulations.
3. The accuracy of some treadmills can be off and I have read that a GPS is more accurate than a treadmill's electronic readout.

However, it is considered common practice to elevate the mill 1 per cent to better replicate outdoor conditions; I still have my doubts but even accounting for this the progress indicated below remains very encouraging. Additionally my next 2400m test will take place on the same treadmill and should provide a rock solid benchmark for my fitness in another four weeks. It should be noted this test took place on Tuesday 3 June.

1.50 11:50 (07:53) 133bpm average
1.50 10:39 (07:06) 144bpm average
1.50 10:06 (06:44) 152bpm average
1.50 9:25 (06:17) 163bpm average
1.50 8:57 (05:58) 170bpm average

Monday 18 June 2012

MCVET 10k

There were three reasons for running this race: the $25 price was reasonable; I could walk to the start line; and MCVET is a deserving cause.
The race began at 0830 and already the humidity was in the high 80s and the temperature was in the high 70s. I decided to abandon any attempt at a sub forty time. In the first mile I made a conscious effort to hold back and all those streaming past me made it hard not to go with them, but I have had too many bad experiences in the heat to make that mistake again.
The first mile split was 06:35 with a HR of 171, indicating I was definitely working hard. By now we were approaching federal hill park and the field was slowly settling down and I was catching some of the early hares. The course double backs on its self on key highway, about 2.5 miles in and my second mile split was 06:57. My own slowing pace showed just how suicidal some of the hares' pace had been.
The course then turned right onto Pratt street and past the USS Constellation and right again onto President street, towards Harbour East. Here I looked at my Garmin and saw a pace average of 06:54 and thought,'hey, I'm maintaining pace pretty well'; and just then the Garmin bleeped to record the third mile split of 07:13! Blast, I had been looking at the total distance average pace and not the current mile average pace. From that point on I ignored the pace and the Garmin, save for a few glances to make sure the HR remained in the low 170s. It was at this point, with the pressure of the watch banished, that I began to enjoy myself and just concentrated on maintaining effort. Well into mile four I overtook a few more of the earlier hares who I had been stalking since I resolved to ignore the watch. A turn around on fleet street back towards Little Italy and I was soon to complete mile five in 07:12; mile four was 07:06, so I had settled down to a sustainable pace. As we approached the final 1.2 miles, turning right back onto President street, I could see a couple more runners up ahead. The field was quite strung out now and I had been running on my own for about a mile.
I slowly closed in on the runners in front and remembered the first runner I encountered from the race's beginning. I decided to make my move as we turned right from Pratt street onto the hill on Calvert. My thinking was that the combination of me overtaking him on a hill and putting in a surge would break any morale to respond. His constant looking over his shoulder as I approached indicated he was running on empty. As I put a surge up the hill I realised the next two runners were within reach. As I reached the top of the hill I took a look over my shoulder to see the runner I had overtaken was slowly falling away and I turned my attention to the two in front.
With about half a mile remaining I moved into a controlled sprint as we moved downhill and turned right onto Lexington street and towards the finish; I soon passed the next runner and moved into a full sprint in the last quarter mile to overtake the next runner. The crowd at the finish line warned him of my impending approach and as he looked over his right shoulder he tried to respond but it was always going to take too long for him to get up to speed before we crossed the finish line and I finished a few seconds ahead of him in 43:16.
This was a personal worst by over two minutes but I was satisfied with a well executed race. If Jeff Galloway's estimations about the affect of heat on performance are correct then the heat and humidity undermined my performance by at least 10%, giving me a cooler performance time of 39:20. Looking at the results revealed that two of the three runners I overtook in the last three quarters of a mile were in my age division and making that move in the last mile got the bling below.


Friday 1 June 2012

At last-progress

At last-progress. I have been very remiss in updating the blog and this 2400m test took place at the end of April and took place at about six am. I think that might explain the very slow initial 2400m.
The progress in the remaining 2400 segments is undeniable and the final two 2400 segments might have been better had I been able to get my HR up; I suspect the early start and the effect of Circadian cycles prevented my body from working to its true potential.

The reduction in mileage to less than fifty per week and the inclusion of a weekly Yasso sessions, along with a tempo and marathon effort run on alternate weeks has yielded very positive results.

25 April
1.49m - 13:35(9:06/m) - 133bpm avge
1.49m - 11:17(7:34/m) - 145bpm avge
1.49m - 10:27(7:01/m) - 154bpm avge
1.49m - 9:46(6:33/m) - 162bpm avge
1.49m - 9:21(6:16/m) - 168bpm avge

29 March
1.49m - 12:40 (08:30) 136bpm
1.49m - 12:06 (08:07) 145bpm
1.49m - 11:13 (07:31) 156bpm
1.49m - 09:54 (06:39) 166bpm
1.49m - 09:08 (06:07) 174bpm