TrainMe: 400m to 5k

M:

WU - 2M easy + stretches + 4 x 100 striders 8:38, 8:45

WO - 4 x 100 turns 0:18.9, 0:17.1

4 x 100 straights 0:19.3, 0:18.9

4 x 100 turns 0:18.3, 0:19.3

Very windy

CD - 1.5M easy + stretches 10:00

T:

4.75M easy + stretches 9:30

W:

XT

Planks (front, side, back) 2 x 30 seconds

Situps and backups 3 x 30

Birddog 3 x 10

Pushups 3 x 10

Myrtl x 1

Band Walks x 2

Leg lifts for quads with resistance band 3 x 10

Th:

WU - 2M easy + stretches 9:00

WO - Fartlek 28 minutes 4 x (3:30/3:30)

0.45M (7:44), 0.37M (9:28)

0.43M (8:05), 0.37M (9:34)

0.44 (8:02), 0.34 (10:24) Had to walk a bit due to people on path

0.44 (7:54), 0.36 (9:49)

3.20M ~8:47

Felt good overall staying close to 8:00 pace.

CD: 2M + stretches 10:20

F: Off

S:

Skateboarding

5M easy + stretches 9:33, 9:14, 9:36, 9:47, 9:51

Su:

Skateboarding

Legs are a little sore from skating.

Just remembered I forgot to check in. That was a solid week of work, and it looks like your mileage ticked up quite a bit. I can't wait to see how those 100m times went with the flying start.

No problem. I was hoping you just forgot and it wasn't anything bad.

M:

2.5M easy + stretches ~8:45

Still tired from the weekend.

T:

WU:

2M easy + stretches ~8:45

WO:

2 x (500m/1:30) 2:14.8, 2:07.46

There was a heavy crowd at the track tonight. On the first 500m a lady was hogging the inside lane just after 300m and took a long time to change lanes so I think I lost 2 seconds there because I was on pace the whole way.

2 x (300m/1:30) 1:12.57, 1:09.96

I had to run into the grass to pass a couple people on the first 300m. I think I lost 1 second there.

1 x 100 0:17.9

My form was a little off at ~50m

CD:

1.25M very easy + stretches

W:

1M very easy

Tired

Th:

WU: 2M easy + stretches ~8:45

WO:

4 x (100/10:00) I hand timed these so the distances my Garmin claims are long. Also, I had it in M not K.

112m 0:16.3, 120m 0:17.8, 112m 0:17.0, 112m 10:16.7

CD:

1.25 walk home + stretches

F: Off

S:

WU:

2.5M easy + stretches ~8:45

WO:

4M easy ~9:45

CD:

1M very easy

Su: Off unless I get restless.

I'm planning on doing the 400m TT Tuesday because I have a full day at work Monday and am not sure when I'll be able to leave work. Tuesday I'll be at the good track wearing spikes. I also plan to follow the original strategy you gave me for the 400m.

I'll do the 5K TT Thursday or Friday at the regular track wearing flats. Strategy other than running fast?

Those were 2 great workouts. Your legs must be getting quite a bit stronger, because your paces are dropping and you aren't getting as many nagging pains.

I would try to sneak in 2-3 miles today at an easy pace if you can (w/3 striders afterwards). Think of it as a wake up the legs run for tomorrow.

For the 400m: Run the race a few times in your mind tonight before you go to sleep. You've put in a lot of good work, trust your fitness and go get after it tomorrow.

For the 5K: I would definitely run the 5k in flats. I would wear your garmin too...its hard to remember what lap you are on when you're running 12 1/2 laps around a track. I would take hand clicked 400m lap splits...since the garmin gets confused on track distance.

What kind of time do you want to shoot for in the 5K this week? What is your best time and what was the last time you ran before switching to 400m training?

Your training shouldn't be very ideal for 5K improvement, but its hard to tell for sure...everybody seems to respond differently to different kinds of training. This is really just a bench mark trial to see where you are at, and how your 5K fitness was effected by your sprint training.

They are definitely stronger. I still get tiny little pains, but nothing major and they have all been going away after icing and massage.

I'm definitely going for an easy 3M tonight and I'll be sure to include the striders. I'm sure I'll include a little extra for a warm up.

For the 5K, I'm hoping to hit 23:xx at least. My best was 24:xx and my last official "race" was 26:02. That was on hills, with a heavy crowd, and I had not done any speed work for months.

I'm expecting something good from a flat track with no people. My plan is to do an easy 2M warmup, walk for ~10 minutes, stretch, a few striders, a little more rest, and then the TT.

How did it go?

It didn't. The school's team was running when I got there. Very busy and I'm already not supposed to be there since its not an open track.

I think I'm going to have to wait on the 400m with spikes until Saturday.

Since I can get to a regular track easier I am thinking I can run the 5K today.

Sounds good, but you might want to push your 400m back until Sunday if you aren't feeling 100% recovered from the 5K. Let me know how it goes.

Ugh. Disappointing. My pacing is bad. My endurance is bad. Terrible prediction.

26:27.8 - Average 8:45, Best 5:44, Closing 100m 7:42 to 5:44

Excuses - My pacing was off and I went out too fast (around 7:20) and did most of the first half under 8:00 because I forgot that I could watch my time and not just distance.

Results - I ended up having to walk SIX times after 2 miles because I had a hard time catching my breath. That killed me.

Hey, no worries. This was just a benchmark trial, and the results are close to what I expected. You've run low mileage, low volume / high speed intervals with long rests, no long runs, and no tempos. You aren't prepared to excel at the 5K right now. What you have been developing is strength, power, speed, and form.

I was actually kind of hoping you would go out a little too fast. I'm guessing the faster pace (7:20) felt easier than normal in the beginning. You're probably starting to get more relaxed and holding form better at faster paces...the problem is you've had no endurance training, but it will come.

I plugged your fartlek times (3:30 paces) into the Daniels running calculator and came up with a prediction of just under 26min for your trial. I'm pretty certain you could have gotten under 26min with better pacing. Plus, I know it was seasonably warm here in VA today...I'm not sure when you ran, but some kind of temp. / humidity combination could have been effecting you in FL. A 5K at 26:27 in 80*F is equivalent to a 25:41 in 60*F. Its also much harder to perform optimally under time trial conditions vs. an actual race.

The real measuring stick for this training block will be the 400m tt. Keep a positive attitude and lay down a fast time this weekend.

Thanks for the feedback.

I knew I was being greedy with that time, but it motivates me. Also, it has gotten a lot warmer in the last week. Not that it's really gotten cold here this winter. It hit 82 and was humid yesterday and I felt it.

I did a warm up mile at 8:00 and it felt super easy. I probably should have not warmed up.

Another thing, running a 5K on a track is boring. Super boring.

When I went for my cool down I was on the roads and noticed a big difference in the muscles I was using since I have inclines to deal with on every street.

How much of a difference do you think that makes?

A 5k on the track can definitely be boring, but its a good way to accurately measure your progress. Same distance and elevation, and we can adjust times for wind & temperature.

---------------

How is your weight right now?

It's pretty good I think, but I'm sure its more than my ideal running weight. My girlfriend bitches about how skinny I am and everyone I know says I'm thin, but we know what non-runners think about weight.

I haven't weighed myself in a loooooong time. I'm actually getting a scale this weekend so I'll know soon and add that to my report on Sunday.

Do you subscribe to Daniels or did you just like his calculator?

I ask because I have the 2nd edition of his book and am just curious if there's anything in there you recommend reading.

Or, if there's anything else you recommend I read. Noakes, Pfitzinger, etc. for general training concepts (not workouts).

Well that sucked.

WU:

0.50M + stretches + 4 x 100m striders + 400m jog

WO:

400m TT = 1:07.07

+0:05.87

Wait a second!

I was just talking to my old lady about how disappointed I am at my slow time when I realized I ran 1:11.20 in my first 400m TT.

With 1:07.07 that's -0:04.13!

Weight is ~170. That's more than I expected.

Pants 32"

Shoulders 46"

Chest 37"

Thighs 22"

Calves 16"

Biceps 12"

Forearm 11"

Wrist 7"

I don't know what you can make out of those measurements.

If you're training to 5K, then you should be doing at least a moderate long run (10-12miles) every 10 days or so.

Awesome!! That is incredible. I was hoping for sub 70, but wasn't sure if you would hit it. 67 is hauling.

I'm busy with work, but I'll write more later.