<p>Hi TheEd,</p><p><br></p><p>Again, thank you for your dedication to this website. It has absolutely provided me the necessary guidance and tools to get back into this awesome sport. </p><p><br></p><p>I just completed day 3 of my third cycle in the sub40 program. See below for some pertinent information: </p><p><br></p><p>33m, 155lbs, 5'10"</p><p><br></p><p>90s rest after each 2km set below</p><p>KM 1 | KM 2 </p><p>3:51 | 3:59 </p><p>3:49 | 3:53 </p><p>4:01 | 4:05 </p><p>3:49 | 3:53</p><p>3:52 | 3:59</p><p><br></p><p>I honestly do not know what happened in the third set - I felt like I was moving the same and the pain was identical. Perhaps my body was holding back OR my watch lost GPS signal... anyways I won't be too hard on myself for this. </p><p><br></p><p>I was aiming to run sub40 in a 10km race exactly one month from now - that race has now been cancelled, which is a shame because I feel like my training has been going SO well thanks to your programs. </p><p><br></p><p>My goal is to continue with the program and aim to run the same race next year in sub38. Last cycle's 5km time trial I ran 19:33. </p><p><br></p><p>Questions:</p><p><br></p><p>1. Please confirm that I should not simply continue running the sub40 cycles, but rather take a 3 day break after (this cycle?) and start again with the off-period and build up. </p><p><br></p><p>2. Sometimes I truly have to listen to my body and I skip a day (95% of the time it would be an easy day), but I usually just shift the entire schedule by one day. Is this ill advised? </p><p><br></p><p>3. Which day would you replace with specific hill sprint workouts? </p><p><br></p><p>4. Is sub38 a physical/human possibility within a year's time (assuming I stay healthy and committed) or is that jump too elite? </p><p><br></p><p>Again, thank you for your programs. The last 4 months of running have been a real joy for me, in part thanks to you and this site. </p><p><br></p>
<p>Hello all! First off all thank you for oportunity to experience and train with this nice program. I was searching this a long time as a retired athlete(swimming) to this point and decided to give it a go. Curently I am training with my partner and we are on 4 th day off second build up cycle. We did time off and all. All we did as the program says is easy running and some medium effort rolling hills. Now can I tell you little information about me. </p><p><br></p><p>Im 188 cm, 89 kg. Running background : little, did here and there some mountain hikes and 45 min runs as a part off preparation to mine swimming season. As off mental aspects I can say I am a patient person, disciplined and pacing system is incorporated in me which is logical because swimming is very similar, strategy is very important.</p><p><br></p><p>I did 236 km with this program from January 6th until now,never missed a day. Most of the kilometers were in first, second and third zone. Heart rate was never above 140 bpms, one fartlek and rolling hills were above 150 bpms, reason is hill course is 200 m elevation gain and my 75% effort is 155. My goal is for this year is to progress fine and enjoy.</p><p>Paces are 6:15/km avg on 130 HR, 7:15/km avg on 117 HR bpm, resting Hr is in range of 56-60. Core workouts, hip muscles workouts included 2 times a week.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>I got a few questions!</p><p>4 k time trial is scheduled on 1 st March, and the problem is the track is occupied, some local competetion. How we can handle this, should I do 4 k trial on Saturday 29 th, February which is rest day or Monday 2nd, March?</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Other question is about a race which is scheduled on 28th, March(Saturday, 10 km, 80 m elevation gain) But I will wait your response and we can talk about this, because clearly I will finnish first cycle off 10 km training few days before race, and I dont know what to do on race day.</p><p><br></p><p>Thank you in advance for your attention and sorry for my mediocre english <img src="https://www.time-to-run.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.png" data-sceditor-emoticon="" alt="" title=""> </p><p><br></p><p>Sincerely</p><p><br></p><p>Dominik</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>
My 6 month goal is to run a 37 min 10k. <div><br></div><div>I am just getting into running but I have a decent amount of fitness from paddling coming in. </div><div><br></div><div>Currently following the sub 40 10 k plan (first cycle, day 9). I wasn’t able to finish day 3 (perhaps due to fatigue I accumulated from day 1&2, not that I went particularly hard on them, but it was my first time running for many months). </div><div><br></div><div>Last night I did the 6x1k sessions at 3:50/k and those felt pretty good (got up to 85% of my max hr).</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>
<p>Hi Ed, thanks for letting me join the forum. I am a regular runner but I've lost a bit of focus and really want to focus on a good time for the Cardiff Bay 10k in 7 weeks.</p><p>I started the programme last night with a 60 min easy run. I had bad flu beginning of January so lost a little fitness but really going to follow the plan all the way to race day.</p>
<p>Greetings Coach , </p><p>I'm 41 years and have been running actively for 3 years now. I usually try to run between 30-50km per week. I'll try to fit in minimum one speed or tempo workout along with one long run.</p><p>I'm using a wrist based heart trainer with GPS.</p><p>My runs are usually early in the mornings between 5-6am, as I normally wake up by 4.30am. I'll try to take Saturday off but I'll maintain a long run on Sundays. </p><p><br></p><p>Age:41</p><p>Height:1.74m</p><p>Weight:73kg</p><p>Resting Heart Rate:46</p><p>Max heart Rate:194</p><p>5k PB:24:20</p><p>10k PB:52:15 ...</p><p>I did a 4k TT today </p><p>1k 4'57 AVG Hrt Beat 152</p><p>2k 5'01 164</p><p>3k 5'07 166</p><p>4k 4'59 171</p><p>Avg about 5'01 pace per K..</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p>
<p>Hi,</p><p>Being a runner for almost 10 years, I've had my ups and downs. My PB's are from 2015, where I ran 33.20 for the 10km and 2.34 for the Marathon. Back then I trained along the lines of 80-100 miles pr week with some quality training sprinkled in, but not that much. Primarily LSD, which seemed to work for me.</p><p><br></p><p>But alas, after this great year, injuries has set me back several times, especially hamstring problems caused by trying to do to much hard running trying to break the 2.30 limit for the marathon. I also developed asthma, which is now properly medicated. </p><p>Because of all of this, combined with a general decline in my motivation for running and competing, I've never come to close to being in great shape ever since. I still run pretty much every day, 40-50 miles pr week, but nothing to write home about.</p><p><br></p><p>Getting 8-9 kilos heavier than 4 years ago, and being 42 years old, I want to try to rekindle my motivation for this great sport. I'm not aiming at getting back to my PB level necessarily, but I want to get in shape again and have fun with training and competing. Perhaps one day returning to a competitive marathon level, but that's not in the cards right now.</p><p><br></p><p>I just started running a week ago after 3 weeks in agony after a sprained ankle incident from my holiday, but it seems ok now. So I'm thinking of doing the 4 km time trial on the roads today (won't be stellar by any stretch) and then report back to you. I'm contemplating the sub 40 min 10km plan, but let's see what the trial tells us.</p><p><br></p><p>Cheers, Morten</p>
Hi coach, and thanks for accepting me to the forums!
Background:
I'm 31 years old, 189 cm tall and weigh 83 kilograms. I've just started my second cycle of the 10K program. I've been running about two times per year for the last decade or so. Until my bike broke last year I commuted with bike daily, a short distance of 3 km but just over 100 meters climb so still some exercise. I did CrossFit training regularly for a year about 3 years ago and have been doing it sporadically since (on average less than once per month). I've also been doing some sporadic weight lifting with usually 10-20 minutes of rowing as warmup. I spend some time mountain climbing and that usually includes hiking in hilly terrain and 1-2 weeks of downhill/off-piste skiing during winters.
This spring I was signed up for a 11,4 km leg in a relay race, so I started to do some running, then started reading more about training and came in contact with your program just in time to start 3 weeks before the race.
Before starting the program I did 7 runs earlier this year, last run before that was probably last summer:
March 30th: 6,01 km, 27:16, average HR 176
April 3rd: 5,84 km, 29:30, average HR 170 (uphill, elevation gain 129 meters)
May 11th: 10,02 km, 46:29, average HR 177
May 14th: 6,02 km, 25:50, average HR 180 (same route as March 30th)
May 17th: 15.01 km, 1:15:48, average HR 165 (longest distance I've ever ran before this was around 11 km)
May 19th: 5,02 km, 21:57, average HR 176
May 22nd: 10,03 km, 47:14, average HR 176
It is obvious from both your program and what I have read elsewhere that my prior strategy of just "going for it" whatever the distance is not the best way to train. I had a high average HR for all of my runs except the 15 km run in which I tried to stay in Z3.
I am using a Garmin with a chest heart rate strap to track my workouts. I use heart rate zones based on lactate threshold that has been automatically calculated by my watch, but seems to be the same as using Joe Friels method. My RHR is 45, my max HR is 193 and my estimated LTHR is 17. These are the zones I use based on LTHR:
Z1: -139
Z2: 140-155
Z3: 156-165
Z4: 166-174
Z5: 175-
Starting the program I've kept my easy runs in Z2 everything from 30 to 90 minutes. I've tried to run intervals on flat to mildly undulated tracks and my longer runs on varied terrain.
First 3 week cycle:
Warmup and cooldown included in total distance and time. I can add more info if needed.
Day 1 - 60 minutes easy:
Distance: 10,34 km
Average pace: 5,48 min/km
Elevation gain: 176 m
Average HR: 158
Felt easy but heart rate was a bit high due to hot air temperature and I also did a few strides.
Day 2 - 30 minutes easy:
Distance: 5,90 km
Average pace: 5:05 min/km
Elevation gain: 0 m
Average HR: 158
Ran barefoot on the beach. Felt good but my instinct was to increase tempo so I had to try hard to stay in the "talk zone". Did a few strides. Still a bit too fast.
Day 3 - rest day
I was unable to fit a session into this day so I pushed the 2K session to the next day, planning to have another rest day after the 2K session and omitting day 7.
Day 4 - 2K intervals:
Time: 32:40 min
Distance: 6,99 km
Average pace: 4:40/km
Elevation gain: 23 m
Average HR: 170
Laps:
8:07
4:16
4:13
I tried to go for 3:55/km since I started with the sub-40 program. This was too hard, I wasn't at all recovered after the first rest so I decided to abort the session and divide the run back into two 1 km intervals.
Day 5 - rest day
Day 6 - 90 minutes easy:
Distance: 16:53 km
Average pace: 5:26 min/km
Elevation gain: 181 m
Average HR: 152
Slow easy run, heart rate dipped into Z3 on some uphill segments. Felt absolutely fantastic. I never ran this long or this far before. Legs felt good, pace felt good, did not feel especially tired when finished.
Day 7 - rest day Long day at work and was unable to fit in a run. Took the bike home from work for 26 minutes of easy work with average HR of 130. To work was about 15 minutes and probably a bit higher HR but not tracked.
Day 8 - 1K intervals:
Time: 43:27 min
Distance: 9,11 km
Average pace: 4:46 min/km
Elevation gain: 41 m
Average HR: 169
Laps (time average HR/max HR):
3:57 165/174
3:57 173/181
4:01 176/183
4:09 178/186
4:11 182/186
4:14 180/188
Failing with the 2K intervals at target pace I choose to have a target of 4:00-4:10 min/km for this run. Started too fast and was unable to stay in time for the wast 2 intervals. For my next attempt I will try to focus on going slower the first intervals and trying to increase towards the end.
Day 9 - 30 minutes easy:
Distance: 6,19 km
Average pace: 4:51 min/km
Elevation gain: 33 m
Average HR: 150
Day 10 - 60 minutes easy:
Distance: 12,10 km
Average pace: 4:58 min/km
Elevation gain: 105 m
Average HR: 153
Day 11 - rest day
Day 12 - 5K time trial:
Time: 30:01 min
Distance: 6.16 km
Average pace: 4:52 min/km
Elevation gain: 26 m
Average HR: 160
Laps (time average HR/max HR):
4:06 160/170
4:09 171/174
4:15 174/179
4:18 177/181
4:15 179/184
5K total time: 21:03
Average pace: 4:13 min/km
Fastest 5K recorded, felt hard in the middle but when finished I felt I probably could have gone a bit faster. Went for a 30 km bike ride not too long after with a friend. Probably not the best from a recovery perspective. Total time for the bike ride was 1:11:53 with average HR of 130.
Day 13 - 60 minutes easy:
Distance: 11,72 km
Average pace: 5:07/km
Elevation gain: 116 m
Average HR: 155
Day 14 - 30 minutes easy:
Time: 34:20 min
Distance: 7,20 km
Average pace: 4:46/km
Elevation gain: 71 m
Average HR: 153
Day 15 - 400M intervals:
Time: 28:34 min
Distance: 6,02 km
Average pace: 4:45 min/km
Elevation gain: 23 m
Average HR: 157
Laps:
1:25 152/156
1:33 157/163
1:34 162/170
1:22 163/173
1:31 163/175
1:30 164/175
1:29 167/178
1:31 169/181
1:30 169/179
1:30 172/183
Much easier than the 2K and 1K intervals. Target pace was 3:50-4:00 but everything felt good keeping the pace faster. Really helps knowing a rest is near!
Day 16 - 40 minutes easy:
Distance: 8,20 km
Average pace: 4:53 min/km
Elevation gain: 108 m
Average HR: 153
Day 17 - fartlek:
Time: 30:00 min
Distance: 6,50 km
Average pace: 4:37 min/km
Elevation gain: 138 m
Average HR: 156
Laps (pace):
4:22
3:43
3:44
4:03
4:13
4:04
Ran a new route that was more hilly than anticipated. Fun run.
Day 18 - 40 minutes easy:
Distance: 8,69 km
Average pace: 4:36 min/km
Elevation gain: 79 m
Average HR: 153
Day 20 - race day:
Time: 51:46 min
Distance: 11,33 km
Average pace: 4:34 min/km
Elevation gain: 198 m
Average HR: 171
Hilly and partly on trails. Felt hard. I think I slowed down to much on the recoveries after climbs and probably could have done better. Still happy with the result given the hard course.
Day 21 - 60 minutes easy:
Distance: 11.65 km
Average pace: 5:09 min/km
Elevation gain: 56
Average HR: 149
Day 22 - 30 minutes easy:
Time: 31:07 min
Distance: 4:73 km
Elevation gain: 70 m
Average HR: 141
Thought the planned route would be gravel but was steep trails and I got caught in heavy vegetation having to do a steep climb ending up in someones backyard. Thus not very reliable data.
Going forward:
I'm now into the first week of the second cycle. My targets are 4:05-4:15 min/km for the 2K intervals, subtracting 10 second for the 1K intervals and another 10 seconds for the 400M intervals.
My main goal at the moment is just enjoying running but I also have some races and time/pace goals. My next race is a 30 km race on easy trails in the end of September, but I might sign up for something before that. I was thinking of increasing the long run to 2 hours starting next cycle for 2 cycles and maybe 2,5 hours after that to cope with the longer distance. I also plan on running a half marathon next spring. I would like to get my 10K down to 35, the half under 1:30 and the 30K under 2:15. Goals are lower for longer races since they have a deadline. 2:15 for the 30K in September might be hard but 1:30 for the half next spring feels achievable. Would you agree?
I will also do some climbing which I think complements running quite well since it includes a lot of core and upper body work as well as lower body flexibility. I will also start doing some biking, at this point I barely get into Z2 before my legs give out so it do not think it will be a problem cardiovascularly. I do however get more tired in my legs biking, especially thighs and glutes. With running I almost only feel soreness and fatigue in my calves so I do not think the biking at this point will interfere too much with my running. What do you think?