I fancied a change from our normal 5km runs so browsed the NRC app last night and decided on 'In Control', 28 minutes of intervals with Coach Sally McRae (sorry Coach B!).
It starts with a 6 minute warm up, followed by 1 minute at mile pace, 3 minutes at 5k pace, 5 minutes at 10k pace and 7 minutes at easy pace, so you get slower as you progress. Interesting!
I wanted to be sure that the first fast interval was done on the forgiving boardwalk path rather than the hard road, so we actually warmed up for quite a bit longer than 6 minutes, probably closer to 10. Stopped and stretched then set off as fast as I could. Impressed myself but don't think I could keep it up for a mile. Having started out quick it was quite difficult to slow down and once again the 5 and 10 intervals were quicker than I could keep up for those distances but hey ho it felt good.
The final interval took us back to the car park where we started out from....which just happens to be quite near a McDonalds. Guess who had an Egg McMuffin for her breakfast? Well, I am supposed to be on holiday 😂
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Yesletsgo
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I absolutely love an egg muffin. What better time to have one that just after a tough interval run? Think of all the protein in the egg and cheese too!
That sounds like a super run. I’ve really got into the intervals recently. My last one was the “Runner Up” on which you do on a hill. Best high for ages! I’ll look up yours and add it to my to do file!
If it helps, an egg McMuffin is much better than my best run of the week reward-a Vimto Rip Roller which is a kids sweetie thing that contains nothing healthy at all. I don’t know how it became traditional!! It used to be reserved for run three of Couch to 5k but now it’s become for either the long run or any run that’s been particularly good (limited to one a week!).
I feel like I perhaps be doing some interval training, but I really don't know what my 5k pace, 10k pace etc is (it's so variable depending on the how hilly it is and also the terrain I'm running over), plus as I don't have a garmin-type watch I have no idea of my pace as I'm doing it anyway. So it's good to see that others also find that it doesn't always go exactly to plan! It sounds like a great run nevertheless though, and I suspect that holiday egg McMuffin was well deserved
My 5k pace bears no relation to how fast I run a 5k. It's all about effort. Mile pace is 9/10 effort, 5k is about 7/10, 10k is 5-6/10, recovery is about 4/10. You have to pay attention to how you feel at the time.Some days a 8/10 effort gives a really slow pace, others I fly at 8/10
That's a very helpful way of looking at it, thank you. Perhaps I should start getting myself into gear and doing some intervals. Perhaps I should make that my July quest!
I don’t like looking at my watch while running because I’m more likely to fall over! The podcasts are brilliant at describing how the paces should feel. It’s nothing to do with the numbers on your tech! Definitely give intervals a try. Some of my best runners’ highs have come after that sort of run.
Yesletsgo is right Devon_straggler , running by perceived effort is the way to go if you're running hills and/or off-road.
My fastest pace during a 10k can easily be twice (or more) my slowest pace during the same run, and my pace over a relatively flat 10k can be faster than that over a steep forest trail 5k.
The idea of aspiring to the speed I'd actually run a 5k etc as does my head in Cmoi , effort at the start of a run and effort over a distance aren't the same thing at all. That was one of the things I liked about this run, I always feel great when I start and want to set off all guns blazing. That's not a good idea if you have to keep it up for a while but if you start at 'mile pace' it's a good excuse to run like a thing possessed when I'm still fresh 'cos you know you'll have to slow down later
Yesletsgo MissUnderstanding Cmoi Thank you all for your encouragement and the info, and I was inspired to get out and do an interval run at lunchtime today. I picked a podcast from Runkeeper - An introduction to speed - which uses intervals of 30s, 60s, 90s, 2 min, then the same again, with a sprint to finish. It was great to go a bit faster and explore how long I could hold different paces. It was also nice to find that I can now recover my breath in a slow jog, when during c25k I'd need the walking intervals to recover from the slow jog! A really nice thing to add to my types of run for variety, and hopefully some improved aerobic fitness. Thanks again
Fun one YLG. 😀 I love Coach Sally. She accompanied me on a dog jog trail run at the weekend. Apparently she’s a trail runner extraordinaire. 💪🏃♀️
I’ve grown to love intervals since adopting NRC too. I’ve also found a fun way to do them is at the gym where I can set the kph for my relative efforts. Possibly a bit over optimistic as to whether I could run the whole distance at them, but hey!
I never realised intervals would be fun but they are! My usual runs are all about trying to run slow and consistent so it's really good to just push myself a bit
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