5K+ Podcasts: One Down, Two to Go

[IronMatt]

Did my third run with "Stepping Stone" tonight. Was rather surprised to find that it feels a bit too easy now! Go figure -- I never would have expected this a few weeks ago!

Running to the beat, I covered 4.36 km in the 29 1/2 minutes from when Laura said "Go!" until she told me I was done.[*] That's a speed of about 8.8 km/hour. During my most recent ParkRun, this past weekend, I managed 5km in just under 31 minutes... for an average speed of 9.7 km/hour. In other words, I can do better on my own than by keeping strictly to the beat on Stepping Stone. This tells me that it is time to move on.

Next run, I will give the "Speed" podcast a try. Maybe alternating my runs between Speed and a return to the Week 9 podcast, so that I intersperse some longer runs with the interval training. We'll see how that goes after a week or two... then it might be time to move onto "Stamina".

Ultimately, I want to get my 5K time under half an hour; after that, I start working on the bridge to 10K series. One step at a time, though. Stepping Stone appears done and dusted -- next up: Speed!

[*] Has anyone else noticed that the times in Stepping Stone don't entirely add up? For instance, when she tells you that you are at 20 minutes, she mentions that you have two more minutes at 155 bpm then five minutes at 160 bpm before you are done for the day.

[Pearsey]

IronMatt you've done really well :-). I don't personally look at my watch, I rely on Laura. Too busy thinking: Posture, breathing, beats per mile, feet placement, to do that-I take your word for it though, lol!! Main thing is covering the programme and learn from it. I went onto speed afterwards, and loved it. Apparently you should only interval run once a week, because of the intensity on the body. You may feel, as we all have, that 16m run isn't long enough, but there is method in the madness, so stick to the system, as actually your body has had a great workout. Stamina, I think we all agree, is grueling. I injured my knee towards the end, stupidly I didn't stop, as I wanted to complete the programme. Now I'm out for the past 2 weeks, and the knee is still hurting. I'm wearing a sport knee support now, and it is improving, but I'm in no rush to go back until it has healed properly-I know all to well the dangers of that.

My plan is speed, stamina, free run or week 9, so we seem to be on the same wavelength.

When I return I will stick to stepping stone, speed and free run until I feel happy that I can tackle the stamina again-and this time if my knee hurts i will stop, no matter what.

Enjoy-Keep on Running

Colette x

[IronMatt Graduate in reply to Pearsey]

Hi Colette! Thanks for the kind words... but I am sorry to hear about your injury! Hope you are on the mend and will be out running again soon!

At this point, I think that I have advanced beyond Stepping Stone... but I think I'm not yet ready to try Stamina. Since, as you say, interval training should only be done once each week, I'm trying to figure out what to do for my other two runs. Maybe Speed once, followed by two runs of what I like to call "Week 9+" -- running with the Week 9 podcast, but continuing on until I have completed a full 5km. What do you think?

Eventually, I would like to move on to the cycle you suggested: Speed, Week 9+, and Stamina. Not quite ready for that yet, though. Maybe in another week or two I will give it a try.

Thanks again... and get better soon!

Matthew

[Pearsey]

Hi Matthew, You could try-and it's only a suggestion-Run 1 week 9 , Run 2 Speed, Run 3 free run for 30 minutes to your own music? Forget the 5k-what you are trying to do, as I see it from the stepping stones pod, is perfect what you have learned-hone your skills. I wouldn't worry about 5k you; are running 5k if you're completing the pods anyway or running for 30 minutes, it's all worked out for you. Yes, I did the stamina far to soon, as I was eager to see what it held for me, and regret it. Just do the pods as you feel, and get used to practicing stepping stones pod over and over. Go back to it and repeat it, to make sure you've got it right. I intend to do that, as it is so easy to slip back into your old routine of running, and this is all about perfecting your runs, so no shyness over that.

Thank you for your good wishes re the knee.

Keep on Running

Colette x