My 21k Training

[Ciaran]

Sorry to jump in here guys, but since I signed up for a half marathon next May I'm seeking a little advice.

I just started running earlier this year and I'm doing 10km at around 55mins (my PB was 53.30 before I lost the routine in the summer!), so now I'm back to where I was I'll be starting to do the 10km sub 50 minute cycle next week or the following week to push myself a little more. I'll aim for a sub 2 hour half marathon. I know it's not very fast but it'll do for me. So when, and more importantly for me, how do I step up from the sub 50 10km sessions to a half marathon of 1hr 50min training? What are the guidelines for that?

Oh, and on a general note, I found that after falling out of my routine I was stupid and I tried to jump straight back into my old times. Big mistake. Just getting out running for a time period rather than worrying about distance and pace got me back to where I was within a week and there was no stress on the body. It also made jogging fun again for me!

[TheEd]

Hi Ciaran and welcome to the forums .. have moved your post to create your own thread .. take a look at this thread for motivation and a little idea of what k4marathon did - http://www.time-to-run.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1404

you will note that not everything goes perfectly however if you do the key element sessions you are able to make progress towards your goal

if you would like for me to give you a guideline with pace targets closer to your needs then do consider running a 4k time-trial within this week and then next week you can be up & running

you will also note that k4m did the sub 50 minute 10k schedule with changes to the long-run which he built up over time

so .. over to you

TheEd

[Ciaran]

Oops, sorry, I didn't mean to hijack the other thread.

Excellent read there, that's pretty similar to what I would like to achieve.

I'm doing a 9km fun run next Sunday (the 13th) to get my first "race day" experience, certainly not to break any records! I had planned to start your 3 week cycle on the 14th or 15th. Should I do one cycle with the targets as they are and then do the 4k test to see where I stand? What do you think?

My only other real concern is that I work at nights so my sleep cycle can get very messed up easily. I know the importance of good rest, so I'll just have to try my best to keep myself right as I go along I guess.

[TheEd]

no problems regarding the thread ..

do consider popping in a 4k time-trial .. a time-trial is precisely that .. running at a pace where you want to run fast but you do not push yourself mentally

you can still run the other 9k fun run

let me know your thoughts

TheEd
[SIZE="1"]ps.. shoot me a press release for your next gig .. see http://www.GigMenu.com[/SIZE]

[Ciaran]

I'll do a time trail at some stage this week and just do a few sessions myself for the 10km (I read it wrong, it's a 9.9km forest run, so I'll just call it a 10km for handiness).

I'll let you know how that goes and then start your 10km programme. I'll also try and get some heart rate data for you. I have the Forerunner 305 but I've never really used the HR strap. I read a little about the whole heart rate thing in Bob Glover's The Runners Handbook (which is more interesting than I thought) so I have a bit of an idea as to getting started with HR stuff. I'll also read your section on it here.

As for the gigs, well, myself and one of the other lads are based in Germany and one is heading to Canada for a couple of years, so it might not be for a while before we play again! Still, it's good to know. We normally do a once a year reunion thing at our local Blues Festival, The Blues On The Bay. Not sure about 2012 because of the Canada factor!

[TheEd]

grand Ciaran .. enjoy the week

Theed
[SIZE="1"]ps.. grand also in-line for music aspects[/SIZE]

[Ciaran]

Hi Ed,

So I did a week of pretty reasonable running. The 10km run didn't happen due to work unfortunately, but I did get the time trial in.

My 4km time was 5.24 per km. Does that mean my first 2 km sessions are aimed at 5.50 minute kms and the 1km sessions should be 5.40? (The 5km x 2 plus 1.)

My 4km times and HR.

5.04 - 144bpm
5.27 - 152bpm
5.32 - 155bpm
5.32 - 155bpm

Starting tomorrow then on the 3 week cycle. Looking forward to it.

[TheEd]

nice going on getting the pace right

now to get the balance right .. so only training every 2nd day

so tomorrow can be a very easy 20 to 25 minutes

then the 2k session on Thursday

one step at a time

how's this sound?

TheEd

[Ciaran]

Every second day? Sounds good Works out perfectly actually as I'm away from tomorrow afternoon (after getting my morning run in) until Wednesday night so I wouldn't be able to do anything on Wednesday.

I actually thought the target times seemed slow but if that's what it works out as then I'm not going to injure myself trying anything faster. Let's hope I'm able to set myself higher targets each cycle as the fitness improves.

[TheEd]

Ciaran, beleive it or not whereas the target times seem slow you will actually become quicker .. the idea is to add some training and build on the consistency

if you run fast on one day, it doesn't mean you able to keep the consistency

the program teaches you to train at the right levels and then to build on them in the same way as building blocks

many 'newbies' get injured or lose interest once the first level of enthusiasm wears off

so onwards and forwards and above all enjoy

TheEd