Attempt at a Threshold

Well, I finally cracked down on myself and decided to do a threshold run. Supposedly I was meant to be doing them once a fortnight since February. On rough estimate, that means I should have about 11 or so under my belt by now.
I've done one.
Today was my second threshold run. Ever.
So I'm trying to build you up for the excuses I am about to make about running so awkwardly!
The run that was outlined for me by my coach was as follows:
2k warm up + 5k at a pace of around 5.10min/km + 2k warm down

What better run to do this at than ParkRun? Oh, ParkRun, how I've missed you!
I arrived early and did my 2k warm up. I even finished early as I'd agreed to meet a friend for Park Run. But with the threat of rain, he opted to stay in bed. That was fine with me, as I had my training plan that I could focus on.

From the start, it was hard. I couldn't believe I used to run faster than this! The first 2k I struggled to keep my pace under 5.15min/km. Then things started to go downhill pretty quickly. Not the course, mind you. Just my running. The 3rd km I held on through shear determination and pulled in a 5.19.
The 4k and 5k parts were not so good, averaging at a 5.45 and 5.40 pace respectively. Finishing in a time of around 27.15min. How on earth was I getting a sub-25min in May?

Yay! Only 200m to go!

After the run I saw one of my coaches and decided to chat it over with her. Apparently, threshold runs are not so much done to pace as to feel. Huh, wish I'd remembered that before the race!
Threshold runs are meant to be run at a quick pace, but one that you can maintain for 60min. My coach reassured me that this meant some days would be a lot faster than others. Well, clearly I couldn't maintain the pace for 30min let alone 60min!

Still, with another three weeks until my next race, I've got lots of time to learn from my mistakes. If training goes as planned, I hope to peak in August.

Disappointment

After a girl’s weekend away with the friends, I was not feeling at my prime this morning. (I was at the Laura Dance Festival in the town of Laura! Seriously, everyone needs to do a road trip to a town that has their name if possible. The level of awesomeness is pretty high!) 

But despite the aftermath of said amazing road trip, I thought I could pull of a measly 3x 1k reps.

The goal time set for me was 4.43min. I was disheartened when my fellow 4.43ers were set to do 100m strides instead, as it meant I’d have to go it alone. But, only three, right! So off I went.

1^st k: 4.46

2^nd k: 4.50

3^rd k: 4.55

Despite my best effort, I got consecutively 5sec slower per rep. When my coach saw me marking down my times, he was disappointed. It is a mixed feeling to have a coach disappointed in me! On the one side, I’m thrilled he cares enough to notice that I’ve dropped back in speed. On the other side, it’s also nice to have a coach who doesn’t set standards for the group and is happy with any effort. In terms of improvement, I’d rather have a coach who cares more and wants me to push myself harder.

But the best part of his disappointment? It made him sit up and take notice of me…not that he hasn’t noticed me running before. It’s just more that my sub-par times today gave him reason to focus on why I’m not improving. I was once again approached – in a kind way – about my running form, or lack thereof. Next week he has promised to take me back to the drawing boards. I’m thrilled! I could feel today that my form was all over the place, but I had no idea how to fix it.

Semi-Happy Returns

Well after a week with my grandparents in sunny Florida, a week celebrating a friend's grad from vet school in Colorado (yay!) and two weeks rafting down the Grand Canyon with my sister, I returned to...winter.
Yep, the chill in the air and in the house reminded me that it's time to search for my cuddly heating blanket gathering dust under the bed. Siiigh! I'd rather be back in the Arizona desert camping under the stars and barrelling through the rapids.
Is it any wonder that after five weeks of no training I was a bit reluctant to return?
But I wasn't completely a sloth on my vacation! I did, after all, go for - count them - three runs in the past five weeks. Twice in Colorado with my veterinarian friend, and once last Saturday in Brisbane with my fabulous housemate to remind me of what I've been missing for the past month.
Saturday's run was really a warm-up so that I wouldn't be so reluctant this morning to get out there.
I made it as easy as possible to return to training: I went to bed early so I could wake up early (check), I got my gear all set to go so it would be ready in the morning (check), and I'd even been waking up at 5am the previous couple of days for work so I was prepared for the early start (check).
But brrrr, was it cold! And I was nervous, since I knew that today would hurt.
It did.
My coach kept me down for the times I had been running. 5 weeks ago. Before I left.
Today was 5-6x 800m reps at 3k race pace, with a 500m recovery. For me, that was a time of 3.46min. Yikes! After 5 weeks off, I couldn't begin to guess what I would be capable of today.
Fortunately, there was a big group of us "3.46ers" as we called ourselves. But as we got to the start line, everyone had some excuse of why they were not setting the pace. Who would we then benchmark if nobody was stepping up to the plate?
Like a palindrome, the six of us "3.46ers" all jostled around as we tried to find our pace, calling out jokes and encouragements to slow it down or speed it up, depending.

Lap 1: 3.44. Ka-zing! I felt really good this rep. I took a slower recovery but made sure I was back at the start line with my group.

Lap 2: 3.45. There was considerably less joking and talking from the group. And for me, it hurt. Yikes! At least three more of these reps to go!

Lap 3: 3.45. Oh boy, this one was a struggle. I worried about the other two. My coach was impressed that - considering my long break - I was managing as well as I was. I stopped pretending to do the recovery with my group and did my own recovery (aka, a staggering walk as I sucked in air as hard as I could).

Lap 4: 3.52. I just couldn't hold on to it, in the end. My mind - and body - got the best of me. My coach encouraged me to take a longer recover - not just a slower one. But for once I didn't listen to him. Because I knew if I wasn't running with my 3.46ers, I would have no one to benchmark against. And with no one to benchmark against, I would go much, much slower.

Lap 5: 3.48. Ballpark! I'll take that number! It's only 2-seconds off (I count everything within 5sec of the goal time as "ballpark"). I felt like I had run 10 times that distance. Yikes, am I unfit!

Lap 6: are you kidding? While the other gung-ho 3.46ers took off I hung back with everyone else. They had tried to cajole me into going but I was having none of it. I was happy with my training today, and I wanted to end it when I felt good about it.

But racing season is coming up. So it's time for me to crack down on my lazy "whatever" attitude towards training and start following the program my coach has set up for me. Hopefully under his tutelage, I will be seeing a fast return to fitness!