Week :: Done

So another decent week in the bag.  

This week I feel was a much better balance and the sessions are starting to feel like they are paying off.  Paces are a step closer to where they need to be anyways.

Monday - rest. Tired from last weeks TT efforts.

Tuesday - treadmill 60 on / 30 off x 10.  Really good session. Lactate buffering.

Wednesday - solid 7 miles @ 7/mm

Thursday - short and sweet. 8 x 30 secs treadmill @ 22 kmph. Increasing leg turnover

Friday - recovery 8. Good pace, 7:49/mm feeling very loose

Saturday - 2 x 3m. 3 sub thresh. 3 at thresh. Good session, felt pretty relaxed.

Sunday - (short) long easy with the boy. Tired 7:30s.

Nailed 3 sessions.  The 2 treadmill ones are pretty much key at this stage as it's building leg speed and lactate buffering (relaxing at speed).  The treadmill helps with the legs and pacing. See previous blog!

Saturday was a tester.  3 miles up hill feeling very easy and keeping HR below 159 bpm for 6:09/mm.  Open up to threshold back down the hill and 5k in 17.51 feeling very easy until last mile which I pushed on to tempo. Good sign all is working.  Saturday sessions will be testers now so I get an indicator of form.  It's a 1k TT next week.

Sunday I need to go longer than this and a little faster but wanted to run with Jake.  He absolutely hates long runs. Like father like son !! Glutes were tired but could have gone to 7s easy enough.

384 TSS. Fatigue and form are level  CTL - 53

Plan is to increase leg speed - 22 kmph needs to be relaxed and work on the lactate buffering.  I am roughly around abouts equal with the best shape I have been in and previously I haven't pushed on from here.  I reckon I could race anywhere between 16:30 and 17 mins for 5k right now but I need to get that down and the only was to do that is RELAX at 5/mm.  It's a big ask but now is not the time to bank it and play safe.

It's quite amusing looking at my training.  I know there are people who will look at it and think I'm crazy trying to run sub 16 off 40 miles per week.  But in fairness they are not the people I really listen to.  I know DC reads this (waves hi DC) but he's one of the few people who knows what it takes to run sub 16 for 5k and it's not 2 x 8 mile runs at 8 min miles every day !!

Don't get me wrong.  I respect anyone who can bang out 80-100 miles in a week.  But for me, I could not accept doing that and not getting the returns.  For me right now it's about looking at the key to running 5:08 miles.  That is being able to run at that pace fairly relaxed.

So that's the aim at the minute, run quick and relaxed.  I'd say I need another 10-12 weeks to get there if all goes well.  That 5:43 paced 5k down the hill really needs to be sub 5:30 pace for the same heart rate before I can think I can do it.  Those 7:30 runs need to be 6:30 pace.  The 7s need to be 6s.  It's a huge step up from here.  I'm on the dance floor just nowhere near the band.