The ladder approach

I would confess that i am not a speed guru. But, once in a while everyone one of us thinks about the SPEED factor, the wind through the hair, long smooth strides, hard breathing, and the ecstasy that follows.

Once in a while i let myself indulge in it and see what is possible. Yesterday was an unplanned day, could have been an easy run of 10 Kms, but i was not sure to do that. So i just thought to run on a speed of 4.5 min/Km and see how far i can go. I managed a non-stop 2.5 Km stretch. Although it is not a lot, but it was good. I ended up running the distance in 10:50, which is faster then what i expected.
That gave me some confidence about the shape i am in, and what i can be in. Now I can think of doing same for a 3Km distance, and later a 5Km. My current 5k time is just under 24 min, the goal is to bring that down to 22:30. Not bad! That sounds like more speed intervals, more hill training and more drills :) I love the idea. Its cool to climb the ladder!
Cheers,
Guru.

Heat, Humidity and Speed Intervals

The race day for the 10K is arriving in another 3 weeks. So, i am taking all the weather "conditions" that could prevail on that day. Usually, like last year, it can go hot, but will have less humidity compared to Mumbai. Or, it can get even more HOT and a bit more humid. Lastly, it could rain as well.
I have been training in the humid conditions for a long time, so i can resist that. Rains are ok, we (intermediates) don't get too much impacted by them. Only big concern is heat. If they start the race at 9 am in the morning (which is extremely ridiculous, and happened last time), then anything can happen. So, in order to get used to the heat, i planned for a day time run (yesterday). To make it even more difficult, i made it an interval session. according to internet, the conditions were

Temperature - 95 °F
Humidity - 80%

I ran 8 intervals of half kilometers at a pace of 4.5 min/Km with less then 20 sec recovery in between. I used my racing shoes while doing so. Didn't want to push, so limited them to 8 , rather then 10 which i usually i do.
Overall, it was a good experience. If i have a cap and water then i think i will be able to resist the heat. I will try to do another 2-3 such day runs and try to get stronger.

Today morning, i ran an easy 7.5 Km in 44 mns.

Hill Training

They say that if you want to increase your running strength, nothing is better then hill training. Now, being a runner for over a year, i thought i could give it a chance and see if it works for me. Now, comes the tough part, since i live in mumbai, there are no hills apparently. To do it, i have to do it on any of the fly-over roads. I found one, which has no traffic in the mornings, which means clean air, it has a good sidewalk, which means no chance of getting struck by vehicles, all in all a good package as a hill. The incline and decline makes up around half kilometer. On the first day (yesterday), i did six loops at hard effort. I try to maintain the same speed at both incline and decline, which means hard effort going up and easy while coming down. I wish to do this workout once a week, followed by a rest/easy day. Honeslty speaking, it was tough on day one, the qauds feel the effect of the climbing, but no big pain. Today i did an easy 5Km at very slow pace to recover from yesterdays workout.

New Shoe - Adizero ace

I was really wanting to go and buy a new shoe for the 10Km run. The requirement was simple, the shoe must be super light, well ventilated, not too cushioned and a bit supportive. I searched a lot of shops, big malls, exclusive stores, but could not find such a shoe. So, one fine day a salesman told me that i should go for the AdiZero line of shoes from Adidas and guided me to a store where i could find that shoe. Well, this Saturday i went to that shop, and finally got a pair from that line of shoes. The shoe is called Adizero Ace, and does comes for a high price. Other shoes in the same range were high priced too, this one was just under the budget too.

They feel like spikes with good support and cushion.
Went for a short run in them today, ran 5.5 Kms in 26 mins. The shoe really really work!!!!
I recommend it for all those light weight runners who like to push speed while running.

40 min target achieved

I had the target to run 3 and half loops in 40 minutes, to be achieved by the end of this month. Today i achieved it.
The total distance - 7.7 Kms
Time taken - 39mins 55 sec.
Average speed - 5.23 min/Km

Next target is run the same distance in low 39 min like 39:10 something. That would be a target speed of 5.15 min/Km. I felt strong during today's workout, so i think it will not take more then two weeks to reach sub 39 min for the distance.

Longest run of season - 15.5Km / 93mins

This sunday was (as usual) a long run day. The target was to complete 13-14 kms at an average speed of 6min/KM. I decided to start it early morning (6 am), at a slower pace and then increase it slowly which would lead to negative splits. So, i started with a 6 min 30 sec/KM pace. The weather was a bit supportive and i finished 10Kms in exactly 1Hr, at the end of which i fealt that i can carry myself easily for another 3-4 Kms. I did that and went on to run a total of 15 and half kilometers, and took exactly 93 mins. Since i had negative splits, the last 3 Kms were done at 5min/Km speed. Not Bad!
So, what i can conclude is that, i should begin all my runs early in the morning. Also, i will consider the fact that the actual race might be in worst hot conditions, and i will do late morning runs in the last month of training (May).

Long run & Tempo pace targets for 10K

Registered for the Bangalore 10K today
Tempo runs : Constantly I have been able to do 3 and half loops of my running route(7.7 Kms) in under 41 mins. I need to break 40 mins for the distance this month. By next month beginning, i target to put up 4 loops (8.8Kms) in 45 mins. I think a high 45 min like 45min40sec will also work well. That will be a 10K speed of 51 mins.
So, i guess i can keep the longest tempo run to 4 loops. That would do the trick. I will try to keep the timings near to 45 mins, then lower it every week by 20-30 secs and peek out at somewhere in between 42-44 mins, which will be the target speed of my 50 min 10K.

As far as long runs are considered, i keep an even pace of 6 min per Km. At present I am at 12Km long runs. Will keep on increasing that by 1Km every week and would like to peek at around 15-16 Kms.

New season - New targets

So, here we go. The good winter season is gone like it never came. The breeze morning runs have become difficult to accommodate. Now one has to wake up at 5 am so as to get a good time for an easy 10 Km. But, that's how it is, and that's what keeps me going. A new season has begun. Just to make it more tough i am in need of a new PR. Yes, its summer and no time is better then summer for a 10Km PR :) And no event is better then the Bangalore 10K for that.
Last year i did it in closer to 57 mins. This time, keeeping it more in perspective i need to squeeze it in 50 mins.

Updates
16-mar-09, did a 25min 5K today as part of a tempo run, Will try to lengthen these tempos. At the same i am planning to start working out on hills, & since this is Mumbai, flyovers will be the hills :(
20-mar-09, Able to repeat sub 25 min 5Km runs every week. This week it was more comfortable then last week.
22-mar-09, Long run of 11Km in 1:04, pretty smooth drive, no stops, no water, bad summer, rest day on Monday.
29-mar-09, Long run of 12Km in 1:14, pretty bad morning, really really bad weather- hot & humid, rest day on Monday.

My new 10K PR - 54 min

A 10K stands to me 54 min short only :)

I was on my regular tempo run on a speed of 5.5 min per Km. Did 8 Kms, but had a lot left in the tank. So just thought to extend the run for another 1 Km , but i realized that i was on a 10K PR. So, did not think twice to set it up. Finished the 2 Km run to sum it up to a flat 10Km, with a timing of 54min04sec (which is a bit faster then the the speed i thought i was running on - 55 min ). Did not feel too bad, i hope to do good in the long run coming up this weekend. Anybody planning out for a long run and needs a company to go along , do give me shout.

Cheers,
Guru.

UPDATE : Today i brought it down to 53 min.

Meeting an elite runner

This post comes after a long time. But its worthwhile to write and read too (i guess). I met one of my very old friends from Punjab few days back. He is a bit younger then me, still studies in the university and is a student-athlete. Now comes the main part, he is an elite runner, and by any means is a professional runner. He runs for his university and is the top long distance runner of his university. His main events falls as a middle distance runner as he runs the 5K, 10K upto half marathon (21K) distances. His PRs,

5K - 15 min 30 sec
10K - 31 min 20 sec
21K - 1 Hr 9 min

WOW, that's amazing, if he can run this much fast at this young age then he surely can do a lot when he grows up and keep training.

Now comes tips from his side for us, i.e the non-professional group. At this moment i must clarify that anyone who doesnt runs the above timings surely can't be professional :)

He says, running in morning is always better, but never be empty stomach , have a little something always before training, but keep it a little and very light.

Keep focus on the long runs and take rest the following day. That prepares us for the nest training day.

And, for those who want to increase there speed , one day of the week should be a speed-interval training. Now, if you are reading this then surely you must know what is a speed-interval training, or else ask me/google.

And, most important is sleep & diet, always take good sleep and a balanced diet. But mostly when you are an elite runner you look like an ectomorph and anybody can say you are a runner.

some of us might already all the above things, but some may not. thats not important, important is to impliment these in the training and follow them religiuosly.

May god bless everybody good health.