Hadd
Hi Oasis,
I haven't forgotten you, just was away for a couple of days. Thanks for bumping this, but I would have gone back and looked for the thread anyway.
First up, thanks for the info. It looks just like the training of many guys out there. You appear to have pushed the pace of each day up to where it is just about as fast as you can go that day, and still get the whole week's training done.
If you came to me for training, I would start right from the very beginning. You see, it's not a case of "I did the workout at the right pace (like, 10miles at 5k+60) so it must have been right for me..." but I did the workout at the right EFFORT level. It was never the point that you had to just survive the 5k+60, but that when you do it, it is not hard and you could go round again (although you don't).
I tend to guard against runners doing their sessions too hard (at first) by requesting they wear a HRM. I then know the intensities they should be working at. So while you have (helpfully) given me your normal training paces, I do not know the efforts involved in doing them. Up front they do seem a little hard (for you). I would have expected paces more like 7.50-8.00 (especially for the long run), while yours are more 7.25-7.40. I am confident that your "easy" runs are not as easy as they should be for you to improve.
Can you not borrow a HRM for one of your normal easy runs, and get an idea of what kind of pulse is involved? I am suspecting something like 150+, which is too high for daily training for you. Based on your HRmax, I would expect you to be running around 135-145 on your easy days, and never over 165 at any time of the week.
Note that to improve the aerobic ability of your legs, it is not necessary to run hard, or even medium hard. Easy is fine. In fact "easy" is best in your case. I recall reading a paper once in which they had taken the lactate of a number of normal runners after their normal daily runs. They found an average lactate of 4mM on what was meant to be any easy run. This will not mean much to you, but it showed (the authors concluded; and I cannot remember the reference of the paper) that most average runners were pushing the pace of these runs right up till just before the "uncomfortable" level. National-class and international-class runners would never dream of training at this intensely on a "normal" run. They would run MUCH easier.
So, I suspect this is what you have done here. You have found you can run these runs at this effort level and still get the whole week done (despite any aches, pains, etc associated with them?which you think is expected). But in actual fact, this overall intensity is too much/too hard/too often to cause optimal adaptation in your leg muscles over time.
My advice:
1. Prove this to yourself by borrowing a HRM and doing a normal 8 mile run at 7.40. I expect you'll see the HR climb throughout the whole run to 150++ (instead of 135-145 as I advise). Within reason, you do not want to see your HR climb on an easy run. The HR after (say) 15 mins and at the end should be within approx 5 beats of each other (assuming flat terrain, no rise in ambient temp, no crazy dehydration, etc). If you cannot borrow an HRM, take yr pulse at your neck for 10 secs (multiply by 6) immediately on stopping.
2. Slow all easy runs down to 8.00m/m for six weeks. If they begin to feel too easy, do more miles, but don't increase the pace.
3. Drop the 10m at 6.40 as being too "hard" for you at this time. Substitute it with 60 mins at 7.20m/m (preferably 150-155HR) once per week.