Workout Summary Oct 15-21

Total Miles = 56
Long Run = 11.4 miles
Quality Miles = 9
Cycling = 29 miles

Highlights:

Wed:  5K in 21:20 (6:50 pace)
Sat:  8 x 800m @ 6:27 pace

Workout Summary Oct 8-14

Total Miles Run = 53.6
Long Run = 10.5
Quality Miles = 10
Cycling = 22

Highlights:

Fri:  5K @ 6:45 pace
Sat: 16 x 100m, 8 x 200m, 4 x 400m @ 6:41 pace
Sun: 16 x 400 w 30 sec rest @ 6:33 pace

Comments: 3 consecutive days of quality running is something different

Workout Summary Sept 10-16

Total Miles Run = 60.1
Quality Miles = 5 miles
Long Run= 14 miles x 2
Cycling = 8 miles

Highlights:

Wed: Hills and .1 x 10 strides  Hills and Strides
Thurs:  14 mile Run in 2 hr 4 min
Fri:  14 Mile Run in 2 hr 12 min
Sun:  Hard 5K  6:57, 7:01, 6:42

Comments:  Back to back 14 miles sounds crazy but don't be afraid to go against conventional wisdom on occasion.  Ran that 5K hard but will return to run faster.

Hill Running Improves 5K

Regardless of which of the types of hill workouts they'd done during the preceding six weeks, their time on the second 5-K time trial was about 2% faster  -Study: All Hill Repeats Improve 5-K Performance

I wish they had gone into further detail on the number of sessions per week, etc.  Still, this is a good reminder not to overlook the importance of at least a weekly hill session, something I have not attempted in a long long time. 

Here is a post I did in 2011 on the importance of hills Powerful Hill Workouts by Owen Anderson.

Can I Run 5K Under 6 Minutes Per Mile?

One of the first barriers I recall as a beginning runner was the 5 minute mile.  Since then, average pace for any distance has always been in the back of my head. Once I broke 5 minutes for one mile, the target became 10 minutes for 2 miles (10:10 was the closest I ever got in high school). Now, some 35 years later, my focus is to run under 6 min for just 3.1 miles.  Yesterday, I failed again, averaging 6:11 (19:03). 

I feel like I can run that pace for a 10K (I did run 39 min in October- 6:17 pace), so why what do I need to do if I want to run faster?   My workouts tell me that I am pretty fit, but if I want to run under 6 min pace, clearly I have to include more time actually running under 6- that means shorter, more intense intervals with longer recovery.  In addition, I plan to do what I can to add a little strength with Hindu Squats and maybe hills/stairs (I live on the 10th floor- why take the elevator?) 

When all fails, I take a peek at the Runner's World Age Graded Calculator.  My age graded time for a 19:03 5K is  a decent but not great 15:27.  The calculator says an 18:30 is good for a 15:01, slightly faster than my all time PR.  Stay tuned.

First 5K in Over a Year!

I'm not even going to bother searching for the last time I did a 5K, but pretty sure it was more than a year ago. Of course when MWR puts on a race, expect anything but an accurate course. This one measured out at 2.8 miles. I was hoping that I could maintain 6 min pace, and that is exactly what I was able to do- finishing up in 16:54. Pretty sure that I could hold that another flat mile, but any hint of an incline and forget it. Using the Runners World Age Graded Calculator, my 85.95% age graded score (AGE GROUP WORLD RECORD/ACTUAL TIME)is about as high as I have ever recorded, predicting a 15:01 (finish time adjusted to that of an open division participant). The good news is that I know I can run faster, and my knee isn't giving me much trouble lately.

Christmas Day 5K in 19:16

Not a great time, but everybody seemed about a minute slow today- about 10 degrees with a little wind. A little disppointed the time but 6:15 per mile isn't bad without any intervals in nearly a month and a pretty hard 15 miles on Thursday. At least the course was accurate for once!