It’s racing time again. Now during winter it’s the 10k’s again. The Aktia Cup winter series as last year with it’s second run. The series starts in Novmeber and consists of 5 runs. Pretty much the best crowd you can run with in Finland at this point in the year.
Thought about a novelty this time and decided to run according to feeling, not according to the wrist watch. Well, I made the decision 45 mins before the start when recognizing that I forgot my sports watch at home. Stupid me. As someone who measures pretty much all that’s measurable within the normal limits of an hobby athlete, the concept of running a race without 1km lap times is like going on an expedition without a compass. You think you can manage and trust your instincts, but half way in you recognize that it probably wasn’t such a good idea.
training notes, 11 x 400m in 74.5 sec on average, 15.2km in total
Good runs, the first ones of course too fast in 72sec, but the rest stable around 75sec. Good rythm, good feeling. But hey, the folks on the track at the Espoo Epsort Arena need to learn some track rules. If you’re slow, use the outer lane. If you’re a group don’t use the total width of the track, no one can get past. One trick, if you or your group does short track sprints or similar, do those clockwise, so that you face all long distancers. It’s easier to arrange to get past.
Tags: interval
training notes, slow run 15km, 4:45min/km
boring run in boring weather, was tired all the way. The little princess got interested in the bathroom scales today, she climed on ‘em, 12,9kg for her. Then she said it’s daddy’s turn. Avoided the truth for weeks. Now I know that I’m a fat pig again.
Tags: boring run
training notes, aggressive run 13,6km, 4:01min/km
was damn tired today, the weather sucks, grey and half dark all day long. A can of sugar free Red Bull gave enough courage to put on the running shoes and get out. It felt surprisingly good from the get go and we pushed it a bit. The run wa a constant search for the right rythm and guessing the right side when overtaking walking people with and without dogs (the dogs are ok, but the leash can quickly wrap around your legs). The appropriate level of aggressiveness for a 10k is building up, it’s high time. A fist 10k test race next Saturday.
Tags: fast run
training notes, interval runs 3×1000m in 3:21min, 3×800m in 2:43min, 3×600m in 2:00min, 19.2km in total
Runs were supposed to be 10 x 1000m, we’re not there yet. However, those felt way better than the first attempt last week, things are improving. Interval sessions make decent kilometers. 19.2km in total, almost a long run (= 22km and more). Today, 8,5km for warm up and cool down - the indoor track is about 4,3km away from work - plus the runs and 400m jogs as rest in-between. Not bad. Counted from last Friday, it’s been 110km in total in the last 7 days.
Tags: interval training
training notes, easy run 16.9km with uphill accelerations, 4:36min/km, 5:25h of sleep
It’s black dark again, this time no rain, but wet streets and damp. Actually today’s training was supposed to be indoors, a nice and cozy circuit training, first some warm up on a tread mill and then some circuit exercises with nice rests in-between. But it’s the queens christmas party at work on Friday, hence the run with Pekka K. (not the one from yesterday) originally thought to be on Friday was moved to today. The usual route around Espoo’s Laajalahti’s shore lines. It’s a bit of a guessing game in the foresty patch in the beginning, the lights are only accompanying you on the first 500m the rest of the 6km are quite dark. Pekka was pushing it from the start, every uphill stretch he accelerated. Is he a believer of the same training philosophy? (I.e. “on every basic run, do acceleartions whenever there’s an uphill battle. If there isn’t do it on a flat patch.”) Later he told me he believes more in “making pain your friend, so you never run alone again”.I came home at a quarter to 7, the queen told me, no christmas party on Friday, it was called off. Ah, what the heck. It’s been 91km of running in the last 5 days, that’s alright!
Tags: Pekka K.
training notes, long run 23,3km, 4:30min/km, 5:19 h sleep
It’s black dark, it’s raining, if Pekka S. hadn’t joined I would have skipped this training. Lond run, that’s as motivating after a hectic day at work as a Monday is after a too short weekend. The legs were heavy from the weekend’s unsuccesful attempt to run 8×1000m intervals, one 1000m, two 800m and the rest 600m runs those were. The only good news, the hip muscle seems to play along again, no trouble at all anymore. Still the legs were heavy. Pekka pushe right fromt he start, neither did he have a good day at work. So we were both slightly annoyed and swooshed silently through the streets of Espoo. Of course we defrosted after a while and told us stories of tired legs and “heroic” training over the weekend. The long run is better when doing together than alone.
A slightly different terrain. Was in Zürich this week. And of course in a country that stands for a mountain range and a city that stands for quality of life, you have try out running. Well, I had to. There’s lake Zürich and most probably you could find a route along the shores of it. But hey, coming from Finland, you don’t get kicks out of running around or along a lake anymore. It’s the verticals that are more exotic.
Tags: uphill training, Zürich
The target is set for this winter’s 10k running series. Going below 34min, bold as usually. “You only hit what you aim at”, as the American poet Henry Thoreau from the 19th century used to say. Btw as a tax resister quite a likeble fellow. Unfortunately there’s not much gain without pain. And a next painful episode is sketched up here, the November to January training. 12 weeks of run and fun…
The four inputs for this plan were:
- As earlier said, not to be home too late every day. One rest and one short run day in the week allow for being home earlier. Also riding the bike to work adds training time without deducting more time from family.
- A recent article in the German Runner’s World magazine pointed out the benefits of cross-training. Not to confuse with cross-country running (that’s not bad either, though but not meant here). Biking, rowing, the elliptic trainer, a dynamic strength circuit training, mix it all together in a good 1:45 hour session and you’re done for the day.
- The Runner’s World training coach (in German) provided a guideline on weekly kilometers and the standard elements, the long run & easy runs
- Finally, the interval stuff and hill sessions come from the Runner’s World sub-33min training program (in German).
Did I mention that I like the Runner’s World training tips…
Here we go, mix it all well and top it off with macademia nuts.
Tags: sub-35 10k, winter training
Was out earlier today on one of those utility runs, i.e. going running and getting something done the same time. This time it was into the city to get a pair or overshoes for those wet bike rides to work during the coming winter and then a U-turn towards one of the larger home improvement stores in the Helsinki suburbs. Not a good run, though. Too high a heart rate, still stuck with a cold, and the wet and slushy streets didn’t make running much more comfortable. At least there was something edgy happening in the otherwise safe and sound (perhaps slightly boring?) suburbs today. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: fire
