Bridge-to-10K: Week 2 Run 1

[IronMatt]

Tonight was another session of 1am running. Didn't intend it to be. However, I went to work... then I had bell ringing practice... then it was off to the pub... then home for dinner... then had to do my evening chores around the flat... and by the time I knew it, it was well past midnight. Truth be told, I really didn't want to go out at that point, but I forced myself, knowing that I would regret it later if I skipped a run.

On the plus side, running at 1am in early January means that I have all the roads entirely to myself. Rather peaceful, really!

I am happy to say that, thus far, Week 2 of the Bridge-to-10K plan is not as difficult as Week 1 had been. Thank goodness for that! Tonight's three 15 minute runs took effort, but I never felt like I would simply die before finishing. Maybe there's something to this whole "training" thing after all, hm?

Anyway, here are the stats for tonight:

Run 1: 2.51 km in 15 minutes (average speed 10.0 km/hour)

Run 2: 2.53 km in 15 minutes (average speed 10.1 km/hour)

Run 3: 2.60 km in 15 minutes (average speed 10.4 km/hour)

I continue to be surprised that the first run is consistently the slowest. Go figure!

In total, I ran for 45 minutes, covering 7.64 km. That's a new personal record -- wahoo!

(As is standard, this total is only the sum of the three running intervals. The warm-up walk, the two 1 minute walking breaks, and the cool-down walk are excluded -- it would be cheating to count them!)

The average speed for the three runs combined is 10.2 km/hour. Not super-fast, by any standard, but significantly zippier than the 8.6 - 8.7 km/hour that I averaged during Couch-to-5K. Guess those 5K+ podcasts (plus proper running shoes) helped, too. If I can maintain this rate, I will be covering just over 10 km when I get to running 60 minutes in Week 6. That would be a nice change from C25k, where I hit the 30 minute mark first... then the 5 km mark a little later... then had to work for weeks to get 5 km within those 30 minutes. We shall see.

Next run -- Week 2 Run 2 -- is planned for Wednesday night! For now, though, I had best be off to bed, or else I am not going to be a happy camper when the alarm goes off in the morning!

Happy running, all!

[Rollertoaster Graduate]

WOW! Fab stats! It's amazing you are running as fast as you would for a 5k! I am definitely taking the opportunity to slow down a bit and focus on building the endurance! It's also great that you found it easier than week 1.

I am also super impressed at your determination, running AGAIN at 1 am! I totally understand how peaceful it must be though.

You're doing so well on this new journey! Keep up the good work!

[IronMatt Graduate in reply to Rollertoaster]

Thanks, RT!

Also, you make a good point about comparing my speed to that of a 5K. My best 5K time was at a ParkRun last month -- 28:36. That works out to 10.5 km/hour. Looking back at this post, I see that my _final_ 15 minute interval hit very nearly the same speed. That is encouraging! Thanks for pointing it out!

Still surprised that I start off at my slowest. I can understand having the last interval be the fastest, as I don't need to hold back at the end pacing myself. (Though I miss Laura's "one minute" warnings -- last night, I zipped up the London Road at full speed, certain the run was almost over... then had to slow down when things lasted about a minute or two longer than I was expecting! Whoops!)

But, yeah, I would have expected the first run to be one of the fastest, also, after warming up but whilst still fresh. Go figure!

As I mentioned on your blog, you are absolutely right to focus on the endurance and not the speed. I am trying to do the same. I told myself last night that I wouldn't map yesterday's run, but then I got compulsive and did it anyway! Ooops! (I think it's because I knew that my first 45 minute run would also be my longest distance covered and I wanted to see how far that was.) In any case, the goal is definitely 60 minutes right now; despite the name it isn't actually 10K. Like with Couch-to-5K, that can come later if need be.

Again, I'm so glad that you've decided to join our little "group" on this new challenge! There are at least six of us now, I think, who are just starting out. It's really nice to share stories and do the mutual support thing -- hooray!

[Rollertoaster Graduate]

I'm the same, I start off slow and build up. Better to have some left in the tank for a push at the finish than the other way round! I used to be the opposite. I guess we are becoming more experienced runners, more aware of what our body does and knowing what feels comfortable!

Oh I agree, I really missed Laura chiming in with how long I had to go. I had the mapmyrun app running and set to tell me every 5 minutes which helps. Seeing as you like your stats, perhaps you should invest in some technology apps, garmin etc that does this? I love analysing my run and looking at the splits, graphs etc. Seeing the improvement in that way is so motivating!

Hooray for B210K! (I am still surprised how much I am liking the challenge again after being unsure about it!)

[IronMatt Graduate in reply to Rollertoaster]

I have been thinking about putting a running app on my phone. How do you like the MapMyRun app? Right now, I just use the podcast to get the various times, and I make a mental note of where I was when I started and finished each interval. The distances and speeds are worked out after, at home, using MapMyRun's website.

I would definitely be up for a more tech-savvy implementation. On the other hand, I'm not really keen to spend £100+ on a GPS watch when I can do most of the same in five minutes after the run ends. So a good phone app on my Galaxy S3 would be the natural solution.

Also: Really glad you're enjoying Bridge-to-10K! At last count, I think there are at least six of us who have just recently started (you, me, James, Gayle, Steve, Sue), and I'm loving the little "support group" as we share stories and cheer each other on!

[SBG356 Graduate in reply to IronMatt]

Yes, there are others too who have mentioned they have started this but maybe just dont blog as much.

To those I say, come on guys, share your experiences, good or bad, eventful or uneventful and lets help each other through this! It doesnt have to be about pace, speed or distances just a few lines about how you are doing so we can both support and be supported on our new adventure

Sue

[IronMatt Graduate in reply to SBG356]

*nods vigorously* Yup -- what you just said!

[Rollertoaster Graduate]

I would definitely recommend putting an app on your phone. I have had no problems with the accuracy of mapmyrun, it works well "offroad" too. But there are many others around so you can always try them out to find which works best for you. You will save yourself a lot of effort using one. I can't even imagine how you can remember all that information!

Also as I said before it is great to see a graph of your pace. I could tell I was becoming a stronger runner as soon as the pace levelled off and it wasn't up and down like a polygraph! It's interesting to see how long it takes to settle into that steady pace too.

I agree about paying for a GPS watch. It seems like a no brainer for me to just use an app, though I wouldn't mind a heart rate monitor! I think with mapmyrun, if you buy the accessory and upgrade to the paid version of the app (<£2) you can log that too with it.

[SBG356 Graduate]

Good run Matthew!! I cant believe you did another 1am run, especially after all you were doing that day (and evening!) Hats off to you!

I'm glad W2 didnt prove so difficult for you either; thats promising!

Sue

[Pearsey]

Well done Matthew-glad to see you are focusing on endurance and not speed-something I've been banging on about for a while now. Good to see you finding W2 a lot easier than expected :-).

I'm still out for a while. Did a great walk on Friday, but then Sunday decided to hoover-wrong thing to do! My knee has been playing me up since. Saw my osteopath this morning-for realignment for my back, pelvis, and of course, the knee.

Advised to rest now for 48 hours-eeeek! I am definitely NOT a resting kind of person, but we went off to do a bit of shopping and then came home-to rest

Keep on Running everyone

Colette x