NRC 10k plan: Week 3 Killer Fartlek aka 30 On 30 Off

[Yesletsgo]

A beautiful morning after a good night's sleep, body battery at 100%, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, perfect for a fartlek, woo hoo!

And so it started. Five minutes warm up then off I went like a cork from a bottle, 30 seconds of hard 5k pace 7/10 then 30 seconds recovery (fifteen times), I was so up for this.

The first hard run was great, the wind behind me, full of energy, I even realised that maybe I was starting a bit too keen, but hey ho, I'll slow down for the next one. Similar with the next couple. Coach Chelsea was talking us through it and then said something like 'I'll leave you on your own for a bit, see you at 30 seconds'. So, on I ran. And ran. And ran. Realised it was way more than 30 seconds but as I hadn't been looking at my watch much had no way of checking. It was no good, I needed to slow down and as I did there was Chelsea saying '5-4-3-2-1 and recovery!'

Right. If I'd known I'd need to keep that pace up for 3-4 minutes I could have probably managed it OK, but the mind set was that it'd be 30 seconds. I slowed down, took breaths, tried to bring my heartrate down a little and then - off again. And repeat. Thankfully the 30 seconds timing was back to what it should be but by now I was running into a very stiff SW breeze, whose direction felt like it was changing to deliberately push me back. It was like running against a physical barrier. Had to stop a couple of times as my HR was really high and it wasn't feeling like fun at that point. I even walked the last couple of recovery intervals, the effort needed to fight the wind was more than I was prepared to give.

I was so relieved to finish. I jogged home very gently, I'd had enough and it was slightly quicker than walking.

I'd like to do this one again on a still day to see whether it was actually as hard as I found it.

Funny thing was, despite feeling wiped out when I got home I am now buzzing with energy. Oh, and that pesky breeze is now drying my washing on the line so that's another positive

PS just checked, according to my Garmin results the wind was 31 (not sure if that's mph, kph or knots but it's still pretty vigorous) while I was running, and the direction was somewhere between WSW and S.

[Sax64 Graduate10]

Well done, sounds like a fantastic workout. I did a fartlek yesterday and when I turned around to head back, wow did I feel the wind buffeting me. It's hard isn't it? But glorious too.

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to Sax64]

Absolutely. It was very good once it was over 😂

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate]

Those battle the element runs are exhilarating aren't they? And another ticked off,

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to SueAppleRun]

We've had a lot of wind lately and it can be hard work but today...it was literally pushing back at me, personally. Felt great once I'd stopped though!

[Annieapple Administrator]

🍏🤣I so identify as I did a speed run today with Coach B in a very strong wind!! At one point he was saying this is fun 🤩 and I thought he had lost his mind.. it was so not fun .. however I am learning more about myself my paces and effort than I ever did & looking at the stats I did do my fastest run ever in one segment without dying so I am improving! Well done to us both for braving the wind!! Xx

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to Annieapple]

I was expecting Coach B but it was Coach Chelsea instead. She has a very different style!

I didn't realise how challenging this would be, I mean 5k pace and then recovery? Shows how overdoing it and battling the elements will work against you. Hence wanting to do it again but better.

As you say, well done us!!

[MissUnderstanding Administrator Graduate10]

That sounds like such a fun run! I (mostly) find those sort of speed runs the same. I come home like a bottle of pop! I had a migraine this morning so switched a run for a long walk in the fresh air. Can’t wait to have a go tomorrow…I’ll think of you!

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to MissUnderstanding]

Hope your migraine is better and that there isn't so much wind tomorrow (though where I am the forecast is for very strong winds after midday).

Having said which I am still buzzing despite doing the biggest pile of ironing I've seen for a long time. Enjoy your run tomorrow and let us know how it goes

[MissUnderstanding Administrator Graduate10 in reply to Yesletsgo]

Thank you-I’m a little bit fuzzy but so much better today. I think I’ll switch the intervals for a chilled run and a swim. That will feel like a win after not doing much yesterday!

[Jools2020 Graduate10]

That extra long interval obviously didn’t help with how you were pacing your run. Even with the wind! If I overdo it on an interval run I can’t usually recover.

I remember running 30:30 like that for a whole 5K run and getting a PB! I was looking into intervals and Jeffing at the time.

Well done - it certainly gives you a workout. It would be interesting trying it again without the wind and the extra long interval!

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to Jools2020]

Definitely a case of overdoing it and not catching up with myself. I'll learn (the long interval was the last thing I needed!)

[MissUnderstanding Administrator Graduate10]

After saying today was a gentle swim and gentle run day, I ended up having.a grumpy thrash around the pool and doing this run! Oh my goodness. It was killer. Just utterly relentless! I think running the recovery sections too fast at the start was my main downfall! I had an app update available this morning which specifically mentioned fixing audio timings. Happy to report that it worked fine for me. Here’s hoping that’s that bug fixed.

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to MissUnderstanding]

Thanks MissUnderstanding . It's hard to describe what a tough run this is! Maybe because it sounds so innocuous, after all everyone on this forum can run 5k so how hard can it be to do it alternating with recovery pace? Well we know the answer now, blinking impossible!!!!

On the plus side, I'm certain any residual grumpiness evaporated in the face of physical overkill 😂

By the way, how did you find out about the update? My app isn't mentioning it.

[MissUnderstanding Administrator Graduate10 in reply to Yesletsgo]

The grumpiness was very much banished! I was so relieved that the run was over that I felt I could walk on air!!!!

An update just appeared in my App Store notifications. I thought it might be a Feb playlist but it seemed to be just bug fixes. Not that I’m complaining! The audio timings have been really annoying lately.

[VS1975 Graduate10]

Ooh well done you.

I’m on that run tomorrow as I’m short for time before work. So timed it for tomorrow & it will be on the treadmill not out & about so no pesky gust like you had.

Hopefully no got h for me but will keep it in mind (I’ve no updates)

Good luck the rest of week 3 😊.

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10]

Good luck to you too, let me know how you find the run. Let's hope it's more straightforward on the treadmill 😁

[VS1975 Graduate10]

hi, I found it much easier on the treadmill. I liked Chelsea too, I enjoyed it. No glitches other than it didn’t record as a run. I didn’t get the tick so I restarted the run on the app & let it time out to get the tick. Im

Looking forward to last run of this week the 6k run (possibly Sunday for me)

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to VS1975]

Me too!

I'm going to try the fartlek in less trying conditions and see how I do. Good to hear it wasn't such a nightmare on the treadmill.

Did the 25 minutes recovery run today, a nice change of pace.