The Fast Stuff
Under the AnT post I mentioned the difficulties I've had in hitting and maintaining running above the anaerobic threshold. Since that post I've had another two attempts.
First up I hit about 3:47/km for 4 out of the 6 repeats plus to two dips down to 3:38-3:39/km. The intensity was definitely up and it was clear my legs weren't used to holding the pace here. The seventh repeat was a blow out to 4:12. Still not on holding 3:42/km for at least 8x1km, but a lot closer.
About eight days later I got through to 8x1km. A big improvement. This time the running felt a little more natural and I wasn't as destroyed during the recovery kilometres. The average gave me 3:44/km with a variance between 3:39-3:50/km.
These sessions are quite tough, but aren't causing a drop in the rest of my training. In fact there's been a very gradual creep in my recovery and basic running speeds from about 6:30/km a couple of months ago to around 5:30/km at the moment. This is also reflected in equal heart rates for the improvement in speed.
Am I on track?
Not quite according to the original plan I wrote out a while ago. As a result there is a little more doubt about what sort of times I can hit in April. However, I am very confident I'll be in peak shape. Even at this stage I'm nearly at last years level, so I will be placed well to challenge my previous bests.
First up I hit about 3:47/km for 4 out of the 6 repeats plus to two dips down to 3:38-3:39/km. The intensity was definitely up and it was clear my legs weren't used to holding the pace here. The seventh repeat was a blow out to 4:12. Still not on holding 3:42/km for at least 8x1km, but a lot closer.
About eight days later I got through to 8x1km. A big improvement. This time the running felt a little more natural and I wasn't as destroyed during the recovery kilometres. The average gave me 3:44/km with a variance between 3:39-3:50/km.
These sessions are quite tough, but aren't causing a drop in the rest of my training. In fact there's been a very gradual creep in my recovery and basic running speeds from about 6:30/km a couple of months ago to around 5:30/km at the moment. This is also reflected in equal heart rates for the improvement in speed.
Am I on track?
Not quite according to the original plan I wrote out a while ago. As a result there is a little more doubt about what sort of times I can hit in April. However, I am very confident I'll be in peak shape. Even at this stage I'm nearly at last years level, so I will be placed well to challenge my previous bests.
Good to see you're on track to go for PBs in April. Good sign that the general running pace is coming down along with the improving 1k intervals.
ReplyDeleteOf course there's always doubt to go along with it. Plenty of misses in training, but some good improvement along the way. Time will tell.
ReplyDelete