Intervals - I may be warming to them! ๐Ÿ˜€ - Bridge to 10K

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Intervals - I may be warming to them! ๐Ÿ˜€

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10
โ€ข42 Replies

I posted this by mistake in the Couch to 5K forum, but this is where I meant to post it! ๐Ÿ˜€

I wasnโ€™t going to do interval training today, but I know itโ€™s good to mix things up, so inspired by Birdlady64 I set out just before sunrise. Shorts, long sleeved top, wind jacket and trusty sun visor were the clothes of the day!

On my warm up walk I took a peek at the washes. The talk in the village yesterday was that โ€˜the washes are filling up!โ€™ Or just โ€˜the Wash is upโ€™. To translate, this means that the Ouse Washes are flooding. I took the photo above from the road while I still can (it will soon be under water). The land in the image was a meadow a few weeks ago! The bodies of water will soon join up and the whole area will be under water. I went back to take the photo after my run. Itโ€™s wonderful living in the fens.

I had prepared a simple workout in the Garmin app - 60 seconds of running followed by 90 seconds of slow jogging. I did this 10 times, which was an increase on my previous attempt of 8. Next time I will do more, I think. This workout only took me to 3.2 km. Last week I had struggled with it, so I didnโ€™t want to overdo the increase. I have not found this easy on previous attempts.

I did not include my warm up and warm down walks in the workout, but one mistake I made was to end on a โ€˜jogโ€™. Next time Iโ€™ll make sure I end on a run, then I can end the workout and go straight into my warm down walk. I did know this, but I forgot!

This time, I did find it slightly easier and, dare I say, I was almost enjoying it! The watch vibrated, telling me to move to the next part of the workout, but I missed a cue in the middle as I was watching a particularly large flock of Whoopers flying overhead!

Garmin shows your pace for each section in the stats, I was stunned to see that my pace in a couple of the sections towards the end was 5 something! Yes, 5 something! I know itโ€™s only for 60 seconds, but hey! ๐Ÿ˜„ If I can do it for 60 seconds, Iโ€™ll eventually be able to do it for longer and a sub 30 minute 5K may not be an impossible dream after all! ๐Ÿƒโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿƒโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿƒโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ˜€๐Ÿ‘

Back home for porridge ๐Ÿฅฃ, the Breakfast of Champions ๐Ÿƒโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿƒโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿƒโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ‘

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Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020
Graduate10
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42 Replies
โ€ข
Instructor57 profile image
Instructor57Graduate10

Hmm... Your post won't stay still ๐Ÿ˜‚

Nice one ! I should do more Fartlek runs !

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10โ€ข in reply toInstructor57

๐Ÿ˜‚ Yes, try it again. I have to tell myself that itโ€™s not a โ€˜wastedโ€™ run! Itโ€™s training. Plus, my fitness age is now 41! ๐Ÿ‘

nowster profile image
nowsterGraduate10โ€ข in reply toJools2020

I'm catching up on you! ๐Ÿ˜‹

This morning's run dropped me to 44. Each of the last three runs have knocked a year off my fitness age.

Roxdog profile image
RoxdogGraduate10

Breakfast of champions for a champion!

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10โ€ข in reply toRoxdog

Haha, yes! Now Iโ€™m going to have the bath of champions! ๐Ÿ˜€

AlMorr profile image
AlMorrAmbassadorGraduate10

Good post from you Jools2020 whether it was on this forum or the C25K forum, lovely photo and a great run for you, interval training is good for all runners.

It's so interesting see photographs from all over the UK where runners run, I have sent in several and have had great feedback on the wonderful places I run

You say that the road that you took that photo will soon be flooded, a lot of small islands all over the world, especially in the Pacific Ocean will soon be under water with rising ocean levels, perhaps the fens as well, enjoy your runs.

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10โ€ข in reply toAlMorr

Thank you, Al. Yes, the fens will one day be completely submerged. Not in my time, I hope!

Vinchie13 profile image
Vinchie13

Great going again Jools.

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10โ€ข in reply toVinchie13

Thank you Vinchie13 ๐Ÿ‘

Ping-pong profile image
Ping-pong60minGraduate

Nice run & lovely picture. I can imagine myself back there as a child with the moorhen and the water voles swimming past and the Whoopers overhead. A lovely run with a very speedy 60 seconds included, good work, you certainly earned that porridge ๐Ÿ˜„

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10โ€ข in reply toPing-pong

Thank you ๐Ÿ˜€

I thought of you, which is why I took that picture this morning! ๐Ÿ˜€

Beatlesforever profile image
BeatlesforeverGraduate10

Wow, that's amazing! You're becoming a pro at intervals ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘ love the picture, what a fantastic place to run ๐Ÿ˜

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10โ€ข in reply toBeatlesforever

Haha, I donโ€™t know about that! I made a mistake with designing the workout and missed a cue in the middle, but apart from that, it went according to plan! ๐Ÿ˜‚

It is a lovely place to run, though ๐Ÿ˜Š

Beatlesforever profile image
BeatlesforeverGraduate10โ€ข in reply toJools2020

Even pro's make mistakes ๐Ÿ˜‰

Catwise profile image
CatwiseGraduate1060minGraduate

Hey Jools, you inspired me to try my hand at setting up my Garmin Vivoactive for intervals, itโ€™s such a cool feature! But I have a question I hope you can answer. I tried googling but havenโ€™t found anything yet.

On my Garmin Connect app, I chose โ€œTraining/Workouts/Create a Workout/Runโ€, from there I set my warmup to be distance based, then my repeat intervals to be time based for Run and Recover, then my cool down I set to be โ€œlap button pressโ€ so that I could keep running slowly at the end to make up the total distance I wanted for the entire thing (4K). My problem is that during the workout, my watch displayed the activity I was supposed to be doing (Run, Recover, Cooldown) and it displayed the distance or time remaining for that interval, but it never displayed the total distance I had run.

I ended up having to press the button to end the workout, then it displayed my total distance, I saw I needed another .5k so I pressed the button again and it kept recording. Iโ€™d like to be able to see, while Iโ€™m in the middle of the intervals, how far Iโ€™ve gone for the entire run. Do you know how to do that?

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10โ€ข in reply toCatwise

Did you try swiping? I did notice the same thing, but at one point, somehow the watch had changed itself to the normal face I have while running, where you can see the distance. The workout continued in the background and I swiped to get it back. As long as you donโ€™t press the stop button, the workout should continue, but I would experiment before trying it in the middle of an actual workout!

Catwise profile image
CatwiseGraduate1060minGraduateโ€ข in reply toJools2020

I swiped once, right I think. But it just brought me back to my normal watch face with just the time (& battery power, & the other widgets I have set for normal day to day use). I was so scared that Iโ€™d accidentally ended the run tracking that I quit swiping! Next time I will swipe the other way.

Thanks! Itโ€™s good to know there is a way to see it, Iโ€™ll just have to play around with it.

Blackberrypie profile image
BlackberrypieGraduate10โ€ข in reply toCatwise

I'm on a forerunner so it will be different, but when I start a run on my watch the "finding GPS screen" has an options bit at the bottom, and under that there's a data screens menu which allows me to set what data I have during the run. I have mine set up with a series of screens that I can switch between so I have a total time/distance/pace; heart rate and cadence; lap time/distance/pace; a clock. When I do a workout it then adds a workout screen which tells me distance/time for the stage I am in. During the workout I use my up and down buttons to move between them.

Catwise profile image
CatwiseGraduate1060minGraduateโ€ข in reply toBlackberrypie

Thanks! I actually have played around with those settings before, but I never knew you could get to it that way, much easier than how I was doing it before! And since you mentioned your up/down buttons, which I donโ€™t have on the vivoactive because mineโ€™s a touch screen, I started experimenting a bit and sure enough, swiping UP brought me to the data screen with distance! Yay! Iโ€™m all set now for my next intervals workout.

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10โ€ข in reply toCatwise

Hooray! I guessed as much ๐Ÿ‘

Tinytears60 profile image
Tinytears60Graduate10

Fab photo as always and a fab little session too!๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘

Starting with a 5 ๐Ÿ˜ณ Wow! ๐Ÿ‘Œ

Thatโ€™s a great pace and as you say you can work to lengthen the time ran at that pace!

๐Ÿ’•

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10โ€ข in reply toTinytears60

I was quite excited with a 5 something ๐Ÿ˜‚. Thanks, Jane ๐Ÿ’•

Birdlady64 profile image
Birdlady64Graduate10

Great stuff Jools! Way to go - you've cracked it ๐Ÿ˜

I made the same mistake first time I tried intervals and ended the workout on a recovery interval so just kept running for a bit. I think I'll do the same again for my short run next week. My run intervals were all 6 something - so I need to get at least one starting with a 5! ๐Ÿ’ช

The photo is wonderful - as usual. The light looks pretty special. And more Whoopers - magical! ๐Ÿ˜

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10โ€ข in reply toBirdlady64

Thanks, I was so excited at the 5 (although it was 5:55 ๐Ÿ˜‚). Lots of Whoopers now. Hard winter ahead! You canโ€™t beat that early morning light!

Birdlady64 profile image
Birdlady64Graduate10โ€ข in reply toJools2020

Yes - when the sun is low in the sky it can be wonderful.

I'll have to take a trip down to the estuary salt marsh and see how many Brent Geese are around. Maybe if the paths are not too bad I could go for a run there

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10โ€ข in reply toBirdlady64

Now that sounds like it would be a fabulous route!

Birdlady64 profile image
Birdlady64Graduate10โ€ข in reply toJools2020

I'd have to take my binoculars and then I'd be torn between running and stopping to watch

9weeks2Run profile image
9weeks2RunGraduate10

Thatโ€™s fantastic, well done Jools.

I love reading your posts they are so inspiring!

What a beautiful photograph looks lovely

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10โ€ข in reply to9weeks2Run

Thank you, what a lovely thing to say ๐Ÿ˜Š. To see the washes in full flood is spectacular. Iโ€™ll post a pic when it happens! ๐Ÿ˜€

9weeks2Run profile image
9weeks2RunGraduate10โ€ข in reply toJools2020

That will be brilliant, thank you

Bontobpat profile image
Bontobpat

It looks a lovely, peaceful setting in the morning light. I do like how you are able to mix up your runs so much. I am still doing the โ€˜same oldโ€™ thing but just trying to stay regular with it. I struggled on Wednesday as it is getting hot, the sun is high early, and I stopped after 4km. This morning, Friday, I set my alarm for 5.30 so it wasnโ€™t quite so hot yet, and tried my first run with the Nike Run app, the 5km. It went well and I feel good after this one. No swans flying where I am but there were a few Rainbow Lorikeets in the bottlebrush bushes eating at the flowers as I jogged passed this morning, which was a treat to get up so close to them.

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10โ€ข in reply toBontobpat

Youโ€™re going to have to run early to avoid the heat! In the summer, I was already out running by 5.00 a.m. I remember the Rainbow Lorikeets when I was staying with my cousin, who lives on acres near Sydney.

Mixing up runs is great for variety. One long, slow run a week is how I started and itโ€™s just great to really slow down, take the pressure off and enjoy the surroundings. Before this, I was going out 3 times a week and running for 30 minutes but getting frustrated at my lack of progress, so thatโ€™s when I started to mix up the runs. We all do what is best for us and as long as we are out there running, thatโ€™s the important thing!

KevinFG profile image
KevinFGGraduate10

I did my intervals run this morning too, great to break a pace isn't it, mine shocked me as my average pace was my fastest to date with fastest run being 4:20 never seen that on my graph before, does show you are getting faster by going slower for longer though. Well done on a great run and great Photo.

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10โ€ข in reply toKevinFG

I get so excited if I see my pace improving! I log all my runs onto a spreadsheet so I can see at a glance the progress Iโ€™m making ๐Ÿ˜€

Wow, 4:20 - you must be pleased with that! Yes, going slower coupled with faster, shorter runs or interval training is definitely the way to go.

Plattszo profile image
Plattszo

Well done Jools.

It's so good that we can still keep learning snd growing, if we want to... which is also great too. It's whatever suits ๐Ÿค—

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10โ€ข in reply toPlattszo

Thank you Plattszo ๐Ÿ˜Š, as long as we are out there running and enjoying it ๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ‘

SJ60 profile image
SJ60

Great post and youโ€™ve inspired me to try intervals. Iโ€™m getting better at plodding round but itโ€™ll be interesting to see if I have another speed to add to plod jog and walk ๐Ÿ‘

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10โ€ข in reply toSJ60

I found them really hard at first and I ended up walking the recovery parts; but actually managed to slow jog them yesterday. Iโ€™ve now edited my workout to include a few more repeats! At the moment, running for 60 seconds and recovery jog of 90 seconds suits me fine. ๐Ÿ˜Š Maybe Iโ€™ll extend the running part later (but as I was typing that, I was already thinking โ€˜maybe I wonโ€™t!โ€™) ๐Ÿ˜‚

SJ60 profile image
SJ60โ€ข in reply toJools2020

Did you use the c25k app? But doing run and jog rather than jog and walk?

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10โ€ข in reply toSJ60

I did at first, but it wasnโ€™t quite a long enough workout with just 8 minutes total of running, So I designed a workout in the Garmin app. My workout is now 12 repeats of running for 60 seconds and jogging for 90 seconds. Then a run of 60 seconds to finish. Iโ€™ll do the warmup and warm down walks separately as I donโ€™t want to record those. Do you have a Garmin watch?

SJ60 profile image
SJ60โ€ข in reply toJools2020

Sadly not. Maybe I can just start with the app and try it out and then complete my run as normal....Iโ€™ll work out a plan ๐Ÿ‘

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate10โ€ข in reply toSJ60

Yes, you could always do that ๐Ÿ‘

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