More of the same ...

[Richard7]

This week has seen a continuation of my 30/20/10 runs. Two out of three were good runs over the same route and the third was a bit more of a struggle.

We have had a long weekend celebrating two birthdays in the family that took us away to stay with relatives. At the evening meal on Friday evening I was sitting at the table of the restaurant overlooking the canal that ambled past the front of the building when it suddenly dawned on me that this was the same canal that went past where we were staying ... so the morning’s run was hatched.

Come Saturday morning I was in two minds wondering whether to reserve the 30/20/10 for week days and just do a 5k at the weekend or stick to the same. I finally decided on the warm up walk to continue the 30/20/10.

I have not run along this route before so the thought of pelting my way down it even just for 10s was adding to a little indecision. The run was mostly good but I sensed that I was struggling more than the previous run. My mouth was dry before I even started and I think a lack of water was playing its part.

As canal towpaths go this was more undulating than my local canal route. Tree roots were breaking through the tarmac/gravel meaning extra care needed to be had. But it was better than running down a busy road and had the added benefit of seeing a startled heron en route.

On the way back I treated myself to a coffee as I walked the last few minutes “home”. A final bit of exercise saw me foolishly walk up the 7 flights of stairs to where I was staying .. come flight 5 I realised how tired my legs were!! At least I didn't get out of breath .. I started running after getting out of breath walking up 1 flight of stairs at the local shopping centre so this is a significant improvement 😊

Happy running everyone.

[Tasha99 Graduate10]

Hi Richard. Is it interval running you’re doing? As, if so, you should only do one short run as intervals each week. The others should be your 5k and the last a slow, longer run. I think.

[Richard7 Graduate10 in reply to Tasha99]

Not sure tbh how you would classify it. In a way probably yes but I don't think it is quite the same. runnersworld.com/training/a...

Funny I cannot find any clarity on what it means when it talks about following the programme. At the moment I am replacing my usual runs with this. Looking at my heart rate and effort it is actually less than normal but what is interesting is that my heart rate is lower for longer. Early days but if this is a trend then it's a good one as usually my heart rate just shoots up.

[Tasha99 Graduate10 in reply to Richard7]

An interesting read Richard. I might try it 👌🏽 Good luck with it - sounds positive all round 💪🏽

[Tbae]

Lovely post and great you can fit it all in.

Love the fact you made the canal link / hatched your plan at the birthday celebration table.

I think the boss is onto me now, probably would have received a kick on the shins not to drift off to all things running.🤔🙈😂😂

You are doing great.All this 30/20/10 stuff, I have yet to get serious, is going to translate into distance and pace and enjoyment.

💥🏃‍♂️💥

[DebJogsOn]

Sounds great Richard and an interesting article too. Are you strictly timing the intervals or doing it by 'feel?

Think I might get irritated by the counting and would miss my leisurely runs ... but of it works...

.

[Richard7 Graduate10 in reply to DebJogsOn]

I created a workout for use on my watch so it does the counting for me. My phone shouts out the last interval duration so I know what's going on and a glance at my watch every now and then keeps me in step. Only thing I have found is that the 10s bit seems to fly by ... not convinced that it really is 10s!!

[pinkaardvark Graduate10]

Definitely worth a read scienceofrunning.com/2012/0... I'd be wary of all runs being intervals.

[Richard7 Graduate10 in reply to pinkaardvark]

Thanks for this. I have been looking for more detail - I obviously did not Google the right search text. Reading the text I think I am not in the elite athlete category so should be ok but going to think how I take this forward. Looks like my dilemma was right to consider doing something else. Whether to do 1 X 30/20/10 or 2 per week and add in a 5k seems odd as to me the 5k will be harder than the 30/20/10. Need to put thinking hat on.

[Richard7 Graduate10]

Having had a couple of comments below I am a tad more confused than I was before!!

I have read this Runners World article

runnersworld.co.uk/training...

And from what I have seen the 30/20/10 is described as a controlled Fartlek. I may be doing it wrong but the 30/20 element is below or at my usual pace and the 10s element is well above my usual pace. This amounts over a 34 minute run to 150s running flat out.

I am not defending this system as I have no reason to .. just want to try and understand whether people think that this specific programme falls into the "don't do this more than once per week" category! And why to help me understand. My goal is to try and improve my running pace as I think if I can do that over 5k I can then run my 10ks at a better pace and then who knows!!

Guidance warmly received.