Intervals and a surprise 5K 😊

[Jools2020]

So… I’m still plodding on with my online training course! Knee deep in interval runs right now, with a longer, slower run on Saturdays- still all controlled by effort zones. this week’s intervals involved one run with 3 x 3 minute intervals of 90 % of max effort and today’s run of 5 x 1 minute intervals of maximum effort. Both runs had a slow warm up and warm down and strength workouts afterwards. I find them hard, but they do seem to be getting easier. A bit!!

I do yearn for a longer slow run though! All in good time I suppose. The time spent on my longer runs is carefully managed. My Saturday run last week was a 45 minute one. I immediately thought “ooh maybe 5K!” But with a 10 minute slow warm up and a 5 minute really slow warm down it didn’t seem likely. It just so happened on that day that I had real trouble keeping in the right zones (😬). They ended up a bit faster than they were supposed to be! Not hugely faster, but faster. So I did run for 5Km and fairly easily - and I was nowhere near as out of breath as I was the last time I did parkrun. So I am getting fitter. Back to following the rules on Saturday this week though for a 40 minute run! 😊

[Gthants 60minGraduate]

So sneaky you even crept up yourself! Well done!

[Jools2020 Graduate10 in reply to Gthants]

Thanks! I am actually enjoying the plan, but I just wanted to run for 5K 😊

[Annieapple]

🍏🙌Always fun when you do better than you planned!

[Jools2020 Graduate10 in reply to Annieapple]

Yes! It was my coach’s plan. She said it wouldn’t hurt just this once! 😊

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate]

Wow that's good news, definitely working for you 😁

[Jools2020 Graduate10 in reply to SueAppleRun]

I think so. I’m finding the intervals hard work, but that’s the idea. Slow running mostly but controlled fast intervals.

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to Jools2020]

I love the intervals I do

[Jools2020 Graduate10 in reply to SueAppleRun]

I like them, too - but I’ve been doing 2 a week for about 6 weeks 🤣 and they’re getting harder!

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate10]

Great run for you today Jools2020, well done, those are beautiful Autumn photos.

[Jools2020 Graduate10 in reply to AlMorr]

Thank you, Al 😊

[Beachcomber66 Graduate10]

Great progress Jools and you sound as though you are enjoying your plan too. Intervals are fun!! I overdid the pace a bit a couple of weeks back and needed my physio’s help to smooth out tight calves, quads and hamstrings. I now have a list of strength and stretching exercises (in that order to avoid pulled muscles!) and that is keeping me on the straight and narrow. I suspect that increased pace makes more demands on the upper leg muscles and they were objecting to the change. You are being much more sensible 👍🙂

[Jools2020 Graduate10 in reply to Beachcomber66]

I’m trying to be sensible! Although I’ve been following the plan for 2 months and only had a couple of lapses. I’ve done all the intervals even though I find some of them them hard, especially the 3 minute ones! I’ve got a tough one coming up next week, a mixed effort one, which looks really difficult. My coach tells me to stop expecting perfection 🤣. I do have to do strength exercises after every run, but it’s just for 10 minutes or so. 😊

I yearn for my long runs, but I do have a 50 minute run coming next week so maybe they’ve started!

[Beachcomber66 Graduate10 in reply to Jools2020]

50 mins is definitely a long run!

I did 45 minutes slow run on Monday then back to NRC intervals yesterday. These were 1min x mile pace, 5 min x 5k pace, 10 min x 10k pace then back to 5k and finally mile pace. Given the cold weather, I didn’t try to produce my best pace on any section! I need to do my exercises this afternoon. I noticed that my hamstrings and quads were stronger yesterday when testing tyre pressures at the garage …so I will persist.🙂

[Jools2020 Graduate10 in reply to Beachcomber66]

I remember doing that NRC workout! It was fun. Your schedule is obviously working 😊