20km run number ten

This is going to be a hard summer doing long runs. Today I wore a hydration belt that I bought in Super A mart. It is so very humid, there was water running into myeyes,  my throat was dry after about 3km.

20km in 1 hour 45 minutes.

That’s about 11 minutes slower than my best in August.

There were Land Mullets and Eastern Water Dragons rustling in the dry undergrowth of the Coffs Creek trail. The increased activity of cold blooded animals a sure sign it is warm. I saw a runner who looked like he could go allright. Not someone I know. There was anothe runner who was a real plodder wearing his Ipod.

Didn’t see the Swamp Wallaby or the Red-bellied Black Snake or two that lurks near the creek. I dodged the crowds at the Jetty Foreshore markets. Past the four wheel drives launching boats off the ramp.

The heat slows me down so much. I wonder if I can run many good races over summer? It is the cooler conditions that I run best in. I think the hydration belt helped a little. The Half Marathon I’m planning to do down at the Entrance in early December might be tough if it’s hot.

Ten miles out

Did a fairly easy ten miler in 83:09.

16km (10 miles) 83: 09 (5:25, 5:30, 5:29, 5:08, 5:11, 4:54, 4:56, 4:48, 5:07, 4:54, 4:54, 5:18, 5:21, 5:12, 5:48, 5:15) @ 5:12/km

I read alot of posts from runners on the US Runners world site going on about low heart rate training on long slow runs. They talk about doing 6 minute+/km on training runs and keeping their heart rates below a certain level (135 bpm).

The arguement seems to be they can increase mileage as a recovery for intense speed work sessions and prevent injury.  Personally I think the paces and HRs they talk about are way over the top. Honestly you may have to take up power walking instead of running to go that slow. 5:00 -5:30/km is very comfortable for me, any slower is lazy junk miles.

I think that it is the intense speed work sessions that put me at greatest risk of injury. So I don’t do any intervals. I prefer to put some moderate to hard kms into my runs each week. And as far as intense speed work sessions I think races are the best form of these. There are some runners that race sparingly and do copious speed work. I prefer to race as often as I can, as if each run could be my last, and I do little speed work.

I notice one runner who does prolific 400-800m intervals all at the same sub 4km race pace. He wants to do a sub 20 5km like me. All the other runs he does are easy recovery runs. I don’t think he tests himself enough. You’ve got to push back the physiological barriers by testing your limits, by getting you body to adapt. You have to do sessions and see if you can improve on your best.

My favourite run is the 12km progression/tempo run where I build up and try to run the last 6km at a tempo pace. I don’t try to run this at the same pace every time. I like to push  a little harder and see if I can improve, and I have improved about 6 minutes this year. That builds confidence. It also mimics the fatigue of running the last few km of a 5 or 10km race.

My least favourite session is my 8km tempo run with 5km hard. This hurts like hell, and usually I say to myself I don’t want to do this again in a hurry. I like to see the improvement at the end. But I face these sessions with some dread. I suspect I would feel the same about 1km intervals if I was to do them. Somehow it is easier to push in a race.

What has always worked for me is to run consistent miles over a long period. Improvement will come. I remember Rob De Castella saying it can take up to four years for your body to adapt and reach running potential. Keep it simple and enjoyable.  It seems to be that some training programs  become too complicated, too inflexible. You need a glossary of terms just to keep up with the running jargon these days. Have a day off if you are nursing a niggle.

The book Jog with Deek talked about slow adaptation over a period of time. It talked about the tendency of the cardiovascular system to get ahead of the muscular skeletal system leading to potential injury. Patience and slow adaption is the key to avoiding that.

Night

Night

 

A clock ticking

tap dripping

snap of timber settling,

and the rasp of

laboured breathing.

 

A cockroach hunting

fridge cycle changing

whisper of

steady rain on tin,

and a tree frog

calling in the garden.

 

A police siren fading

distant waves crashing

full moon shadow

of a sleepless man

cast upon the wall,

the cry of

“Oh Dear”

swallowed by the

night.

.

In the name of progression

An interesting progression run this morning. Nice and cool and overcast. I started feeling reasonably fresh. Second km was a bit slow.

I went past the uni roundabout, and the split for lm 3 didn’t show up. The lap database was full. So I had to slow down and try to delete some laps. I finished up having to stop mid run and delete my last three runs. Then I was ready to go again.

Then km 4 split didn’t show up. I put my Yowie bigfoot down to make up lost time. In the end I more than made up the time. Although I reckon I lost at least 25 seconds fiddling with the lap database on the Garmin.

12km (7.5 miles) 54:25 ( 5:04, 4:52, 5:03, 4:33, 4:27, 4:31, 4:13, 4:20, 4:29, 4:23, 4:20, 4:17). @ 4:33/km; 7:15/mile

Last 10km 44:38 Last 5km 21:49

Life

Salt Fun Run Photos

I really enjoy my digital camera, and taking sports photos. Here are some photos from my recent fun run up at the Salt resort.

This guy ran about 42 minutes with a stroller. The baby looks asleep!

A local runner who made the trip. Looks like he had a fall.

 

20km run number 9

What are your legs?

springs, steel springs

What are they going to do?

Hurl me down the track

How fast can you run?

As fast as a leopard

How fast are going to run?

As fast as a leopard!

Then let’s see you do it.

Gallipoli Movie ending

This morning I did a 20km in cough,cough 1 hour 47.34.

It was hot and humid, and I think i got dehydrated. I joined in with the triathletes on their run leg, and got a little bit carried away.

I had some pain in my achilles, and I thought to myself that I don’t want to run all my best long runs on the training track, I should leave some for the races.

HTFU

I need a squirt of this

So I’m 47

HTFU Quinkin

It was hot and humid on my 20km run, and I slowed down the last 5km

HTFU Quinkin

So I can’t sprint out of sight on a dark night

HTFU Quinkin

Lenny the Cockatiel doesn’t like me wearing headphones at the computer.

HTFU Lenny

Big tree diaries

Blackbutt Eucalyptus pilularis

 

Flooded Gum Eucalytus grandis

Bowerbird

There is one more hole I need to drag myself out of.

I start today.

I wish myself good luck.

If I can work as hard as I did to beat my knee injury, then I might just pull it off.

This morning I ran

12km (7.5km) 61:39.

It was very cruisy I was just floating and thinking about things other than running while I was actually running.