New training plan in effect…

Today I ran a 5 km speed training run in 34:15 which I think is a personal best 6:51 per km pace. I am very happy about that. Anyway, my new training plan is to run the 5 km every Wednesday at speed to see how I improve. Saturday is now my long slow distance day (LSD) where I plan on running a minimum of 17 km up to 21 km. Sunday used to be my LSD day but due to the 5peaks races being on Saturdays, Sunday is now a rest day. Mondays are 11 km mix of asphalt and trails, Tuesdays rest, Wednesdays are the 5 km speed, Thursdays rest, Fridays 11 km again and the LSD on Saturday. I hope to do some biking on the rest days. I have not done ANY biking this year other than a few 10 km rides and I really miss it.

The interesting thing about my speed runs are that I begin running as fast as I can and still be able to avoid taking a walk break, until the half way mark, then I try to speed it up a bit since I am warmed up by that time. If I feel like I might have to stop and walk, I slow down a bit, but then throw in some speed play (fartlek), especially in the last 2 km. My pace, or rather my gait changes frequently from long strides (more landing shock at about 100 paces per minute) to short quick strides (less shock at about 180 paces per minute). I define a pace as each footfall, so from a left to footfall to the next left footfall there are two paces, a left and a right. Gee, that sounds so obvious. Oh well. Obviously your feet move much faster with a shorter but quicker pace, and although your feet land almost twice as much, the shock of landing is much less I think. I don’t know which is better, perhaps a variety like this is best, but I do know that the fastest runners have a pace of about 180 steps per minute. (Reference: “Lore of Running” by Timothy D. Noakes).

This Saturday is my LSD and I plan on running a half marathon (21 km) with my 2 litre hydration pack.The 750 ml bottle I normally carry is just not enough for a half marathon on the trails with no support. By no support I mean there are no water stops or other logistical support. I have to get up as early as possible to beat the heat too. I will check the weather forecast and get up accordingly. I should be able to run it in under three hours. So if I get up at 5 AM, start at 6 AM I should be done by 9 AM.

I should mention that my training also invariably includes (post-run) some stretching, crunches and push-ups too.