First Post Grad Run .... not fun. :-(

[Lynds]

I finished the c25k programme on Monday this week, and have now embarked on my own self devised programme, which involves one speed work session a week, one long slow run a week and one or two 30 min tempo runs. (basically my normal 30 C25k speed, as was pushing self hard with that and achieving just under 5km in 30 mins).

So, first session - 'speed'. (not as exciting as it sounds for the ravers out there!).

I decided to run from my horse’s field, as its flatter and I didn't want hills as an optional extra. I set off for the brisk walk, trying to keep time with Laura's '1,2,3,4, which seemed quite quick for walking to me, but managed that and began the 5 minutes warm up run. I struggled to find an easy rhythm (although was off road) and had no idea whether I was running to the 'beat' or not. (My dancing may well demonstrate my lack of beat awareness too...)

Into the first of the 1 minute faster runs, seemed okay, not really too much faster than when I run my 30 min run speed, still really confused by the 1,2,3,4 and beat thing - I CAN'T HEAR ANY BLOODY BEAT! This continued for the next 5 reps, I basically just tried to run bit faster and then a bit slower...

I got a bit stroppy half way round with a guy whose dog was bounding all over me - and made me stop so he could get it on the lead... but completed the runs, feeling quite out of breathe and strangely unsatisfied...

My over all average mins/mile was exactly the same as when I have done 30 min runs – not sure if that’s good, bad or indifferent…

I hope it gets better, otherwise I'll be looking for recommendations as to how to do the speed (or fartlek) work without a Garmin watch, treadmill - or any sense of how fast I am going/beat!?? (I have got a smart phone, so maybe app recommendations?)

When I got home I didn’t have my usual post run euphoria and felt quite disappointed... also the insides of my lower legs are killing me this morning... weird!

So abit of a moany blog I'm afraid... hope I get my mo-jo back for my 30 min run on Friday - aiming to crack that 5km nut!!

[RainbowC Graduate]

I've found a couple of tracks in the C25K+ podcasts particularly hard to hear a beat - not helpful when the whole point is to run in time... and I don't normally have any problems with keeping to the beat, thanks to *many* years of music training!

Fartlek literally means 'speed play', so it's not a formal 'run at this pace for x time, then at this pace for y time' - it's just you deciding to run faster for whatever distance you choose (a field, couple of lampposts, between two roads, whatever floats your boat!), when you choose. That might work better for you, perhaps?

Anyway, hope things go better for you on Friday - maybe this was just not a great run for whatever reason...

[PeaBea Graduate]

Ditto - I tried the 5k+ podcasts but had no idea when, where or what I was listening for apart from saying the mantra 1, 2, 3 and 4!!! Gave up and now do my own thing. My RunDouble app has 30 minute interval training segments and as you are supposed to run fast for x amount of time and then run slow for 3x your fast distance I will use the one where I run fast for 30 seconds then slower pace for 90 seconds. At least that way I don't have to pretend I can hear a beat (apart from my own heart trying to do an "alien" and rip itself out of my chest, of course!!!).

[Lynds Graduate in reply to PeaBea]

fabulous, I'll look at that! - I also own an alien....

[swanscot Graduate]

I never really managed to 'lock on to the beat' with the 5K+ podcast, but do so with the Audiofuel podcast that I'm currently using - PowerUp2012.

Don't feel bad about struggling with Speed as the whole idea is to stretch you and if you completed it easily this week, you wouldn't see any week-on-week improvement. Also, I find it really hard to run a good speed-intervals training session off-road. I even find it difficult to run on our (hilly) roads and someone on this site has said it is best run on a training track, or other flat path.

BTW Fartleks are non-timed, non-measured intervals so you could run the fat/slow intervals between any features: house, trees, etc.

[Lynds Graduate]

Umm, thinking Fartleks sound more fun... (just for the silly name as much as anything else). Anyone know what the pros and cons are of the two different methods?

[swanscot Graduate in reply to Lynds]

Here's an article on Fartleks in the Scottish Running guide e-newsletter:

scottishrunningguide.com/ru...

[greenlegs Graduate]

Several things made me laugh out loud on here! I still haven't tried the podcasts, and I suspect I won't now, having read all this - I'm hopeless at hearing beats in music, so I think it would just annoy me and put me off! My one Fartlek try so far was great - I wasn't measuring anything, well, I did count approx seconds in my head, but I could just tell I was going slightly faster or much faster for short bursts, and the overall pace was definitely faster. I think I'd rather judge when to stop by when it feels right, rather than from an instruction given by someone who's never even met me. Though if it works for others, that's great too.

Swanscot's comments about off-road vs track is interesting - as I don't have a track or anything much like one round here, I think I'll forget measured intervals. Maybe they only exist for the convenience of coaches anyway? (Subversive thought!)

Nothing to do with Fartlek sounding funny at all.

[swanscot Graduate]

Oh, they are worth trying if you have somewhere level and safe like a hard-surfaced path. I run intervals on the single-track roads here and feel I am benefiting from them. I'm just disappointed when I look at my stats. I expected to see a nice graph showing a steady pace for the warm up run, then a zig-zag pattern showing a series of peaks for the faster bits and depressions for the 'run-slow-between-intervls' bits! But I usually don't, because although my legs may be birling round like a dervish at 180 beats per minute for the intervals, if that comes when on a slight rise, the overall speed is low.