run/walk observations

[Bazza1234]

Some interesting thoughts have emerged from two x 10Klm runs that I have done over the last few days.

Both runs were done using run/walk strategy - the yellow one on the graph was done today and the blue one a few days ago. The yellow one was done in the company of some other runners, at a 60sec/30sec run/walk ratio, and averaged 7mins:30 secs per klm over the 10K. I was just about "finished" at the end of this one - perhaps because of the very big hill at the end. I recently completed a 21.1 klm half marathon using the same run/walk ratio as the yellow trace and at almost identical pace per klm. I was absolutely finished at the end of that run.

The blue run was done a few days ago -- by myself, at a 30sec/30sec ratio , was much more relaxed, and I was not exhausted in the least at the end. I could easily have gone further than the 10K. The average pace of this blue run was 30 seconds per klm slower than the yellow one -- at an average 8 mins per klm.

The difference between the two runs in terms of my heart rate is obvious . Each vertical division on the graph represents `10BPM -- the reduction in HR during each 30 second walk cycle seems to be about the same for each -- but the 1 minute run cycle of the yellow run escalated my HR over the course of the 10K quite a bit higher than the blue run (an average of 20BPM) - and I could definitely feel that at the end of the run.

Over the course of a 21.1 klm half marathon, this reduction in pace would cost me an additional 10 minutes in finish time - ie my recent HM would have been 2hours 46 minutes instead of 2hours 36 minutes, but as I am purely a recreational runner, this would not concern me. It does interest me though that perhaps I could, sometime in the future, further the distance undertaken past that 21.1 klm "limit" which I could not conceive doing at the finish of the HM

[Usain_Balti Graduate10]

This makes fascinating reading Bazza, please keep posting the results of your research.

I'm 5 years younger than your good self and recently completed a H/M using the run / walk method.

I'd had to miss out on a couple of months training for it due to medical problems so only had the last week or so to try to get ready for the race.

Run / Walk was something new to me so I tried Run 2 minutes - Walk 30 seconds but at around half way, changed to Run 2 minutes - Walk 1 minute and managed to make it in just under 3 hours but I wasn't exhausted and had virtually no stiffness the following day - I even considered going for another run!

[AncientMum Graduate10]

So interesting Bazza, keep posting

[Bazza1234 Graduate10]

The only thing that is not quite "right" with all this - is that the two 10K courses were different. The yellow one started with a steep downhill for for about 1/2K - and finished with the same steep uphill. Elsewhere it was quite flat. The blue (lower HR numbers) course was actually a quite hilly course - and you can see that the the variations of HR caused by the hills during that run . I really need to do the yellow run sometime again at 30/30 to get a better comparison. But that is an hours drive away - whereas the blue one is local . I will repeat the blue one next week at see if the result I get is identical to this week