Putting things to the test...

Ok, so this weekend is the first test for how my different training has been stacking up. I have been doing plenty of slower than normal long runs in an attempt to get my endurance speed up. Many of the runs 10m plus have been at 9:00 - 9:30 pace (i usually do long runs at 8:00 - 8:30 pace) and the 15 - 18 milers have taken so much longer. My pulse for these long runs i try to keep in the 130's as an attempt to be better at burning fat while running rather than lactose.

This weekend is my first proper distance race since starting this 4 weeks ago (a half marathon) and i know its early days, but i am hoping to see even a tiny improvement on my SB.

As a by-product of all this slow fat burning running i am now the lightest i have been since April 2010 (65.6kg) so this should also help to improve things.

So here are the figures: My last half was in March where i did 1:36:51. I am hoping with this training and the weight loss i should be getting into the 1:35's any better than this will be a bonus.

will update this on Monday 

thanks for reading

Chris


Edit...

Didn't go according to plan. It was warm and sunny and much hillier than i expected - ended up on 1:39:37 which i was not happy with. Oh well until next time :-)

Racking up the miles.

So - training well under way now. Pushing 50 - 60 miles per week. 

I have started dabbling in the "Hadds" method of training as i just want to get faster at distance. One of my main problems is that i am always trying too hard. This results in my training swaying towards the faster types of running. 
The Hadds method relies on keeping the heart rate (HR) down at a low level which in turn keeps the speed down. The reason for this is that at a low HR a certain type of blood vessels is produced that work better for keeping lactate at bay. With more of these you will be better at keeping lactate at bay. So the theory is as you keep the HR at a low level, you get better at removing lactate, which in turn enables you to eventually run faster at the same HR (coz the HR increases to clear out the lactate, but if its already under control then it stays low - so you can gradually run faster with the same HR as before).

I hope that makes sense?

Anyway all my long runs (10m and above) are at 125-135 bpm which seems to be averaging around 8.30 - 9.00 mpm pace. Lets see how this changes over time. I will use Furzton as a target to see how this new approach works for me - earlier this year my 2 marathons were both 3:34 based on my usual (faster) training. If i run Furzton much faster than this time then it worked.

I am using my usual training plan (P&D) to structure run lengths - but speeds will all be dictated by HR - the only differences will be for the MP runs and any races i do between now and Furzton (Oct).

Races i have planned are some park runs (not real races i know, but useful for short speedy work). A 10k next weekend and a couple of halves. All these 3 races should also give me an idea if the Hadds approach is working based on race times earlier in the year.
Current SB's for these distances are:
10k - 44:05
Half - 1:36:51
Mara - 3:34:12

training between these times and the next ones will be Hadds based so it will be interesting to see how much difference it makes.

Cheers for reading

Here we go again...

Well today i started full on training again for my autumn marathon (Furzton Lake - Milton Keynes). My actual 12 week training plan doesn't start till next week on Tuesday, but as i think i need to be a bit fitter i thought i may as well start early.

Anyway, this morning i did a steady 8m with 10 lots of 100m sprints to get things moving (5am start so nice and cool). I also cycled the 10m to work as we now have a shower there.

I aim to hit the elusive 3:15 at Furzton so i am using a plan based on 7 min mileing in order to get fitter than i need to. I know its not really the way to do it, but then my mind does not work the other way and i need to push myself all the time. I will probably burn out - and if i do i will rest.