Survival Sunday
Sunday August 14 2004
Time 7:30am
Place: Running Room in Outremont
Weather 13 degrees humidity factor 3 on 10
at the end: mid 20s humidity factor 5 on 10
How I felt before: Pain in left ankle was still present.
What I ate: Banana and yogust
What I was wearing Insight Run tank, Nike run shorts and Asic Nimbus V
Distance 29km
Path: Store down to old port West waterfountain on the path toward Lachine Canal cross bridge and return. Cut through Atwater market up to Sherbrooke down to Parc and stopped at the Statue at Mont Royal park
Pace 6min km no faster. Kept pace with the group. Practiced 10 and 1.
Easy pace I was talking with the other runners. It's funny I'm looked at like a veteran runner by older people and the run leaders themselves.
Time run 3:30. Actual time elasped 4:30 (approx)
At the start my ankle was still stiff so I did was not sure if I was going to run this distance. The stiffness was manageable as I did not push the pace.
Ran with 2 new people who never ran more than 10km. The both dropped out and took metro home. One at the 20km mark and the other at the 25km mark
I actually convinced a guy how important pacing was. Once he witnessed the other 2 runners drop out He thanked me for pacing him. He is used to running faster but by conserving energy early it enabled him to successfully complete with the temperature became hotter and more humid.
I wanted to run faster but I did not early for fear of injury and could not later as the heat drained me.
Concerns: 10 and 1 approach drains so much energy in the later stages. What will I do on race day.
Stopped at the park and walked back. As I was walked, the legs were becoming increasingly stiff with each step I was really hungry at the 25km mark. What strategy should I follow for the race on the big day?
Time 7:30am
Place: Running Room in Outremont
Weather 13 degrees humidity factor 3 on 10
at the end: mid 20s humidity factor 5 on 10
How I felt before: Pain in left ankle was still present.
What I ate: Banana and yogust
What I was wearing Insight Run tank, Nike run shorts and Asic Nimbus V
Distance 29km
Path: Store down to old port West waterfountain on the path toward Lachine Canal cross bridge and return. Cut through Atwater market up to Sherbrooke down to Parc and stopped at the Statue at Mont Royal park
Pace 6min km no faster. Kept pace with the group. Practiced 10 and 1.
Easy pace I was talking with the other runners. It's funny I'm looked at like a veteran runner by older people and the run leaders themselves.
Time run 3:30. Actual time elasped 4:30 (approx)
At the start my ankle was still stiff so I did was not sure if I was going to run this distance. The stiffness was manageable as I did not push the pace.
Ran with 2 new people who never ran more than 10km. The both dropped out and took metro home. One at the 20km mark and the other at the 25km mark
I actually convinced a guy how important pacing was. Once he witnessed the other 2 runners drop out He thanked me for pacing him. He is used to running faster but by conserving energy early it enabled him to successfully complete with the temperature became hotter and more humid.
I wanted to run faster but I did not early for fear of injury and could not later as the heat drained me.
Concerns: 10 and 1 approach drains so much energy in the later stages. What will I do on race day.
Stopped at the park and walked back. As I was walked, the legs were becoming increasingly stiff with each step I was really hungry at the 25km mark. What strategy should I follow for the race on the big day?
posted by Turtleboy at 11:50 PM
1 Comments:
The 10 and 1 approach is not a strategy that I enjoy following. The running group does that so I follow it as well to adhere to the group.
While I don't subscribe to it, I do practice it because there is a benefit that I am able to derive from it. I am able to spend more time on out the road pounding the pavement. The training runs are just that, training.
By getting used to being out pounding the pavement regardless of speed or pace is a question of developing endurance.
I may have mentionned how counter intuitive 10 and 1s are previously. To reiterate, if you adhere to this rule, when you take them at the beginning you, deliberately add time to the clock when you don't need to. When you take them toward the end of a race, at that point, your legs are wobbily and with each stop (rest) it becomes increasingly hard to start up again.
A benefit to the 10 and 1 approach that cannot be negated, is that if forces you to pace yourself. When you know you're going to run only for 10 minutes at a time, it becomes easier to establish a pace and to adhere to it.
Once that pace is established, the benefit of the breaks is realised as you are able to run longer.
The objective is not the first half of the race but the second half. You'll end up taking breaks (when you stop a water station) the trick of the 10 and 1 is really a question of establishing a sustainable pace.
On race day, I will take breaks but it won't be as frequent as a 10 and 1. It will depend on the weather and humidity and my physical condition. By then, because I would have practiced the technique of 10 and 1 I'll be able to adjust that technique and utilise it in order to sustain a pace that is manageable base of the aforementionned criteria.
To address your question of technique, everything is a function of pacing. The hardest part is at the beginning when all runners are fresh and the euphoria of the race overwhelms you. Your first 5km will determine how you finish. You may feel great but as I have reiterated, it is best to slow down. "Pay now, or later with interest" is what I say and believe.
That is why heart rate monitors are popular among serious runners. It helps the runner establish proper pace. It doesn't matter if you're used to running 12km/h even if that was the speed that you were able to maintain during your training sessions. If on race day, it is hot and humid, your heart rate will sky rocket to level where completion of the race at 12km/h is not sustainable or you'll end up barely finishing the course.
My perspective my seem negative or cynical but I'd rather you be prepared for adversity and stumble upon serendipity as opposed to leading down the garden path to the slaughter house. So many things can go wrong (knock on wood). That is what makes our sport so demanding and so well respected amongst our peers.
If you have a strong enough base, then work on speed. Otherwise, continue to emphasize the base training (hrm no more than 70% of max. Focus on spending 2 hours on your feet. Get used to that feeling. It doesn't matter how fast you run. Just develop that base (pain tolerance if you want to refer to it that way).
From my postings, you get a sense of the volume that I put in, I practice hills and perform speed work but the majority (Sat and Sun) is spend on those longs run with the 10 and 1.
Hope this helps,
Bonky
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